


Code Lyoko: Resurgence

by Mark_Twayne



Category: Code Lyoko
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 81,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26358163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mark_Twayne/pseuds/Mark_Twayne
Summary: Nearly a year has passed since the Lyoko Warriors officially shut down the supercomputer, and with Lyoko and XANA finally behind them, their lives are at last free to move forward in the directions they wished them to. Until one day, when a strange, yet not altogether unfamiliar accident occurs, causing aspects of their old lives to bubble to the surface once more, and they are forced to ask aloud the question that they had all been wondering for the past several months — was their old enemy truly gone?
Relationships: Jeremie Belpois/Aelita Schaeffer, Yumi Ishiyama/Ulrich Stern
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

“ _Diary of Jeremy Belpois, eighth-grade student, Kadic Academy, December tenth_. . . .

“ _This isn't an easy entry to make, and truthfully, I would rather not have had to record this update, but I know that it's one that I must. Two years ago, I arrived at Kadic Academy, a brilliant mind, though unchallenged where I was. Lessons were relatively easy, with the exceptions of two such courses, Italian and Physical Education, but even with those minor troubles, the most exciting things that ever happened here were the events that took place_ outside _of class, like, for example, the annual robot competition that started it all_.

“ _I was very excited when I learned about the contest, not mostly because of the prospect of winning, but that I thought it would be an easy way to interact with the rest of the school population and possibly make new friends, something I'd been struggling to do for quite a while. I also wanted to challenge myself, but there was really nothing too special to be used as equipment lying about the place at our dingy boarding school. So I headed towards the old abandoned factory that was situated near the vicinity of Kadic. And then everything changed_.

“ _That night, while rummaging for spare parts, I discovered an immense, old, and extremely powerful supercomputer, one that, despite reposing in the middle of a broken-down old factory, was in perfect working order_!

“ _Intrigued, I decided to start it up, and subsequently found that the supercomputer was projecting an actual virtual world, almost completely developed, with several different sectors mirroring aspects of our own world, similar in essence but entirely different in their respective environments. It was in one of these sectors, the forest, that I met her —_ Aelita, _someone who I initially believed to be a digital entity placed on the virtual world — dubbed ‘Lyoko’ — to safeguard it. But that was also when we met XANA, a malevolent artificial intelligence whose ambition was to escape the confines of the supercomputer, and conquer humanity_.

“ _He got very close to achieving this goal too, much too close, but, eventually, we stopped him. I, along with the friends I made after the introduction of XANA: Odd Della Robia, Ulrich Stern, Yumi Ishiyama, and Aelita Schaeffer (known as Aelita Stones to maintain cover), whom we managed to materialize onto earth from her position on Lyoko — the self-dubbed Lyoko Warriors_.

“ _It was a long two years, filled with many ups and downs, where we experienced firsthand just how ruthless XANA was. . . . But then we defeated him. It was so abrupt, so unexpected, so . . . unbelievable. But it really happened. He caused us so much grief, put us and the world as a whole in mortal danger more times than we could count, but we prevailed. XANA was destroyed, and we were free to live our lives unencumbered. Most of us, even with — and in some cases,_ because — _of all that had happened, intially struggled with the prospect of a life without Lyoko, but eventually, we pulled through_.

“ _Nobody outside of our group — with the exception of one William Dunbar, whom XANA had taken possession of for several months — knows about this fight, even though so many people ended up discovering the supercomputer and the secrets it held along the way, and we'd rather it stayed that way_.

“ _I don't know what a future without XANA may hold for us, but I do believe that it'll be interesting to find out. This is Jeremy Belpois, eighth-grade student, Kadic Academy . . . signing off for the final time_.”

The morning dawned bright, cold, and clear over Kadic Academy. The resting students were slowly rousing all over the school, rising with grumbles and wearing irritable, early-morning expressions as they made to line up outside their respective bathrooms, ready to engage in the usual battles for spaces in the accomodations and the warm, comfortable water that they provided.

Jeremy Belpois, however, was still fast asleep, so absorbed in the vivid dreams flickering through his mind that he simply lay there, curled beneath his sheets and snoring lightly, completely oblivious to the light pouring into his room through the window above his desktop. Several times in the past he had been awoken much earlier by that very same computer's alarms, blaring through the night, bearing the message that a tower had been activated on Lyoko under XANA’s influence.

Now, however, it did no such thing. It remained still and silent underneath the window, sometimes barely even powered on unless for some school project, usually assigned by Mrs. Hertz, the science teacher. A light layer of dust had gathered upon the snowy-white keys, so long it had been out of use.

The door of Jeremy’s room suddenly burst open, and in came the spiky, golden head and dark brown mane of two of Jeremy’s best friends.

“Rise and shine, Einstein!” Odd Della Robia said brightly, clapping his hands very loudly.

Jeremy jerked awake, gazing blearily up at the duo, their profiles fuzzy without his spectacles.

“Wah —? What's going on?” he said, groping hopelessly for his glasses, which were perched to the far left on his bedside table.

Ulrich pushed the lenses forward, so that Jeremy’s hand brushed over them; he seized them from the table and sat up in bed, adjusting them on the bridge of his nose and peering up at Ulrich and Odd. The two youths came clearly into view, both grinning down at him.

“Even after all this time, it's still so weird seeing you actually sleeping and not typing away at your keyboard,” Ulrich said.

“Yeah, well,” Jeremy said, smiling in return. “Different times, you know.”

“Not that different,” Odd said, a wide smile breaking out over his face. “We basically still have the same schedules, including our breakfast periods, so you know what that means?”

“Meatballs and gravy!” Jeremy said eagerly. He had never had much of an appetite for it in the past, but now it seemed he couldn't get enough of it during mealtimes.

“That's right! So let's go!”

The three proceeded to the showers, reaching quite early and managing to finish in good time, as the lines for the baths weren't as long as they'd expected. To add to their good fortune, when they arrived at the cafeteria, they found that quite a bit of people were still dawdling elsewhere, so that there were still liberal amounts of food waiting for them, fresh from the stoves. Once Rosa, the squat, kind-faced lunchlady, had filled up their trays, they made their way over to their usual table, where Yumi and Aelita were already waiting for them.

“Morning, everyone!” Yumi said brightly as they converged around the table. She caught Ulrich’s eye and a faint pink tinge appeared in her pale cheeks, though she did not look away until he and Jeremy had taken seats on either side of her, and Odd had perched himself on the chair beside Aelita, whose vivid pink hair was gleaming in the sunlight.

“What's happening, ladies?” Odd said, shoveling spoonfuls of meatballs into his mouth.

“Oh, the usual,” Yumi sighed. “Extra homework from Mrs. Hertz for the weekend, Hiroki driving me up the wall at home _and_ at school. What about you?”

“Nothing much, really,” Jeremy told her, through his own mouthfuls of meatballs. “We spent most of the weekend in the Rec Room playing foosball.”

“ _You_ played foosball with them?” Yumi said, grinning slyly.

“That's right! He beat Odd 10-6 in their last match!” Ulrich said, ruffling Jeremy’s blond hair proudly.

“It was incredible, you should have seen it.” Aelita was smiling at Odd, who was looking sour.

“Only because I went easy on him, didn't want to hurt his feelings,” he declared, waving his hand dismissively and sending a meatball flying off the end of his fork; there was an indignant cry of, “Hey!” from somewhere behind them, which Odd ignored.

“Went easy on him, did you? So I must have _imagined_ that you were practically in tears by the end of match, then?”

Everyone turned at the sound of the new, but familiar voice. It was Sissi, walking towards them clutching her own meatball-laden tray and wearing a pleasant smile, with Herb and Nicolas in tow.

“Hi, guys, mind if we sit here?”

“No problem, you can fill me in on everything that happened during Odd and Jeremy’s match,” Yumi said cheerfully, pulling up a chair beside her.

Sissi smiled and sat down, and began talking at once about Jeremy and Odd’s electrifying match of the day before, while Odd watched on in stony-faced silence.

Jeremy gazed contentedly at the scene unfolding before him, Sissi talking cheerfully at their table, Yumi, Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd all listening without a hint of malice on their faces — well, maybe not Odd. It was incredible how much things had changed since they had officially shut down the supercomputer. They were now great friends with Sissi, Odd and Ulrich were excelling in their school work, Yumi’s relationship with her family had been repaired completely, and Aelita seemed to have at last gotten over all that she had lost and was looking towards the future. . . . Though they had all been reluctant to let go of the supercomputer before, it was even more obvious now that it was what had been preventing their lives from taking these pleasant turns.

Jeremy’s eyes flickered onto Herb, who was glaring at Ulrich as he, in turn, laughed with Sissi as she recounted every detail of the match. Well, at least something was still the same, Jeremy mused.

Their first class of the day was Mathematics with Mrs. Mayer. To the class’s displeasure, she sprang a pop quiz on them barely thirty minutes into the lesson. Luckily, however, the Lyoko Warriors’ newfound free time had given them ample opportunity to peruse their notes more freely than any of them were allowed in recent months, and all of them performed quite well — with the exception of Jeremy, who, as usual, flew through the paper with no trouble whatsoever.

When the class had ended and they were on their way to History, Ulrich and Odd dogged Jeremy and Aelita with questions about the paper. This continued even into the History lesson, which annoyed Mr. Fumet so much that he threatened to send them to the principal’s office, though at this point Ulrich caught Sissi’s eye and she winked at him.

Ulrich grinned back; now that their group was so close to Sissi, being sent to her father, Mr. Delmas, was no longer the punishment that the teachers thought it would be. However, they fell silent nevertheless.

Lunch was once again a peaceful and cheery meal, and it was not until their Science period, directly afterwards, that anything exciting happened. Mrs. Hertz sheperded the class inside with her usual brisk, snappish manner, and called for silence. She surveyed the class for a moment through her thick spectacles, then once quiet had fallen she took the register. When everyone had declared themselves present, she snapped her book shut and peered around again. Then she suddenly smiled.

“We'll be watching a short video today,” she said, “about the structure and uses of enzymes. Please take out your books and prepare to take some notes.”

They did as instructed as Mrs. Hertz set up the projector. When they had finished and were gazing at the screen, she jabbed at the on button. Nothing happened.

Mrs. Hertz frowned. “Hmm.” She pressed the button again, but still the machine remained dull.

“Oh come now!” she said impatiently, moving over to examine the plugs. “Faulty wiring, of course, I keep telling Principal Delmas that we need to update our equipment, why this projector has been at Kadic longer than I — _aaaargh_!”

Mrs. Hertz was suddenly airborne, soaring through the air as a blast of electricity exploded at the socket. Cries of alarm pierced the air as she crashed against a back table and slid, unconscious, to the floor. Everyone leapt to their feet; several students rushed to the teacher's side, while others remained in the background, muttering furiously. Jeremy made to move closer to observe Mrs. Hertz as well, but he suddenly stopped, gazing at the projector screen, his eyes wide.

It was blank, but for a second, a single, heart-stopping second, he had thought . . .

He shook his head and turned away. Then the moment had passed, and everyone was grouped outside, watching Mrs. Hertz being wheeled onto an ambulance and out of sight. As the vehicle streaked away, Jim, the Physical Education teacher, and Mr. Delmas dispersed the crowd, and Jeremy and his friends stopped next to the juice machine, their expressions serious.

Silence had fallen between them, though no one had to speak the words for them to know what the others were thinking. . . . But it couldn't be, not after all this time. . . .

“Look, it was just a faulty wire,” Ulrich said firmly, interrupting everyone's thoughts. “Even Mrs. Hertz said so, it can't be . . . you know. . . .”

“Yeah, Ulrich’s right,” Jeremy said, in what he hoped was a convincingly reassuring sort of voice, “just an old sparkplug, plenty of them around the place. . . . Anyway, Mrs. Hertz is going to be fine, the ambulance worker told the principal. I think I'll just go finish studying in my room.” Yumi’s dark eyes sudddenly narrowed in Jeremy’s direction. Noticing this, he averted his gaze and said quickly, “Well, better be off —”

“Wait, we can come with you —” Aelita began.

“No, no!” Jeremy called back. “You guys can stay here, I think I need to be alone for a while . . . clear my head.”

Jeremy turned into the main building, aware that Yumi and the others were watching him suspiciously. But the moment he was out of sight of the others, he wheeled around and bolted towards a section of the school he had not seen in months: the boiler room. It was time to make a visit to the factory.


	2. Chapter 2

In his eagerness to reach the boiler room, Jeremy had completely forgotten that it was an out-of-bounds area, and that he needed to be on the lookout for any teacher that may try and stop him. The moment he remembered this, however, it no longer mattered, for a voice behind him had already roared, “BELPOIS!”

Jeremy skidded to a halt and crashed against the wall in shock, sending his glasses askew. As he righted himself, feeling slightly dazed now, he heard heavy footsteps approaching and seconds later the enormous outline of the Physical Education teacher, Jim Morales, came to a halt in front of him, bearing down upon him with suspicion in his eyes — the same suspicious look that he had often worn when he caught other members of Jeremy’s group in similar situations in the past, and rightly so, as Jeremy had to admit.

Jeremy hastily composed his features in what he hoped was an innocently curious expression. “Yes, Jim?”

“Where do you think you're going?” Jim demanded. “This corridor is off-limits to all students during class time!”

“Well, you see, Jim, normally you'd be correct, but it's not technically class time right now — not for me, anyway, seeing as Mrs. Hertz was injured,” Jeremy said, in a tremulous voice.

“That may be,” Jim said after a moment's contemplation of these words, “but in that case, you should be in the library, studying.”

“But —”

“No buts!” Jim said forcefully. “You know the rules, Belpois, I must have repeated them to you a million times just this ye —”

“Oh, at last, _there_ you are, Jim!”

A new voice suddenly cut through Jim’s rant, sounding hugely relieved, and both Jim and Jeremy turned to see a boy approaching them from the opposite end of the corridor. He was tall, with a crown of thick, wavy, light brown hair, and lean, with piercing light blue eyes. He was a transfer student, Jeremy knew, who had come to Kadic shortly after they had defeated XANA, when another boarder student had left the country, and was in Yumi’s year, so Jeremy didn't have classes with him, but he had had a few conversations and foosball matches with him in the Rec Room and knew him to be good-natured. Presently, however, the boy was looking as though something positively dreadful had happened.

“Huh?” Jim said, looking at him in puzzlement. “Corentin, what's wrong?”

“It's Arman Decroissete, Jim! He's gotten his head stuck in the vending machine around the front — hurry, he needs help!”

“What?” Jim gasped, looking thunderstruck. “But — how did that even —?” He broke off, shaking his head, and bolted off down the corridor, all thought of Jeremy forgotten. Jeremy couldn't see for the life of him how an accident like that was supposed to have happened, but the moment Jim’s tracksuit-ed figured had vanished around the corner, Leo Corentin turned to face Jeremy, all panic driven from his face, which was now relaxed into an easy grin.

“That takes care of him.”

“But —” Jeremy sputtered, as bewildered as Jim. “Arman Decroissete —”

“Oh, him?” Leo said carelessly. “No, he's fine, probably sipping coconuts in the tropics. Arman Decroissete left Kadic last year,” he added, in response to Jeremy’s questioning look. “I took _his_ place in school when he left.”

This did not quite have the effect that Leo had expected; Jeremy was as nonplussed as ever. “But then —” he began again.

“You were heading somewhere, before Jim caught you, weren't you?” Leo said, raising an eyebrow. “Looked really important, too, so I got rid of Jim for you.”

And at last, Jeremy understood. “Wow, that's — thanks, Leo!” he said, his face breaking into a gracious smile.

“No problem, but you might want to hurry, Jim’s going to realize he's been duped soon enough, and then he'll come stomping back here.”

“Yeah, you're right. I'll see you later.” Jeremy waved and darted off down the corridor again, retracing old steps until he was back in the long, narrow room, lined with rusted bronze pipes on the left, finishing in a bright red door. He seized the handle and pulled, and found, to his relief, that it was still open.

Shutting the door carefully behind him, he raced through the wide sewer tunnels, breathing in the putrid fumes of the murky water, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls. But the reverberating patters were nowhere near as loud as the violent storm of thoughts whirling in his mind. He had a shrewd suspicion that Mrs. Hertz’s predicament was no result of mere faulty wiring. He had seen many “accidents” like that in the past, and almost none of them had been caused by old plugs. And yet . . .

It gave him an odd, twisting feeling in his stomach, as though the very thought had clenched his insides. . . . It couldn't be, not after all this time. And yet what else _could_ it be? He had said it himself on that fateful day, “ _It can't be — but it is_.” But what was it?

He, along with all the other Lyoko Warriors, had stowed their skateboards and scooters in their rooms, convinced that they would no longer need them, so he was forced to run the entire way. This did not bother him much, though, for now he had no excuse to skip Physical Education classes, and it seemed the exercises were finally paying off somewhat. On top of the fact that it seemed that his thoughts were pushing all else from his mind.

He had been there, in that chair that he had spent hours a day in — in some cases, even a night or two — and watched as every Replika and monster onscreen had been obliterated by the multi-agent program, had listened to Ulrich and Yumi’s awed recounting of the destruction of the specter that XANA had used to seize control of William once more. But he couldn't be sure, and if he was honest with himself, he never really was.

XANA had outsmarted them so many times, slipped through the cracks like a malevolent rat: he had stolen a part of Aelita’s memory to link himself to her when they had materalized her, to ensure his continued existence, as they could not shut down the supercomputer without it being detrimental to Aelita’s own life; after countless failed trials he had stolen the Keys to Lyoko from Aelita and succeeded in escaping from the supercomputer and into the network; he had picked off sector by sector until, at last, he managed to destroy Lyoko itself, taking possession of William in the process, and right before they had stopped him, he had taken Aelita’s father. He had spread his influence far and wide across the entire world, creating cybernetic spiders, mini megatank-like spheres with highly destructive capabilities, armies of robots. . . .

No, Jeremy had never fully believed it, despite witnessing it with his own eyes. The possibility had loomed above him, always, like a kind of shadow.

But he had gone along with it, for the Lyoko Warriors had needed a rest. Now, however, he needed to make sure, confirm that it was not all in vain. . . He had reached the ladders leading up to the bridge. He pushed himself upwards, using one bar at a time, and emerged onto the great stone bridge, gazing out at the factory for the first time in months.

It looked as shabby and broken-down as ever, littered and graffitied, but a strange sense of familiarity bloomed inside Jeremy as he drank in the sight. This was where it had all begun. Where the fight had persevered. Where XANA had met his end . . . supposedly.

A grim look stole over Jeremy’s features and he walked to the edge of the bridge, where several long black ropes hung from the ceiling. He seized the end of one and swung downwards from the edge of the ruined upper level, landing in front of the equally desolate elevator, but which, like everything else inside the factory, worked perfectly well despite its condition.

A faint whirring, clattering noise signalled the lift’s ascent. As it came to a halt before him, he slipped inside and pushed the down button, then the door had shut, and he was gliding down, down to the lowest level.

This room was darker than any of the others, but lit with a dim blue light as the magnificent structure of the supercomputer, so long put into slumber, came rising smoothly upwards. Jeremy stared at it for almost a whole minute, sweat beading across his forehead, before he moved. He stepped forward and tapped a button on the cylindrical structure, and immediately a space cleared near the base, the machinery retracting smoothly out of sight so that a lone black lever was left in view. And after another slight pause, Jeremy flipped the switch.

The supercomputer blazed with a series of shimmering lights and sank below the surface again as Jeremy directed the elevator to the second-floor level. He had spent almost as much time in this room as he had his bedroom back at the Academy, and this one gave him the same warm, welcoming feeling as he stepped out of the elevator and moved forward inside, towards his chair. The problem was, someone was already sitting there.

“I knew it.”

The voice seemed to come out of nowhere; Jeremy started at the sound, having truly believed that the room was empty apart from himself. But the chair suddenly wheeled around to face him, and there sat Yumi, her face, framed between dark curtains of hair, contorted with anger.

“I knew you were planning to come down here,” she said, her voice quivering with fury. “‘Studying,’ yeah right.” She snorted loudly.

Jeremy’s spirits sank. He had not expected this, and had no idea how to react. “Yumi, I can explain —”

“Explain what? That you came down here to turn the supercomputer back on without telling us?”

“No! I just —”

“Don't lie!” Yumi yelled. She vaulted out of the chair, glowering down at him. “I know exactly why you're here, Jeremy. You still think there's something left here for us, that XANA may still exist!”

“Well, why shouldn't I?” Jeremy said angrily. “You were there, fighting him with us, weren't you? You know how crafty he is! He’s evaded destruction multiple times before! And now, all of a sudden, Mrs. Hertz has an electrical accident? Sparkplugs don't cause that kind of damage, Yumi!”

“You just don't like not being a hero anymore!” Yumi screeched, and her words seemed to cut through him like white-hot knives. “XANA took so much from me, from all of us, but it doesn't matter to you, does it, as long as you get to keep being _Mission Control_!”

Jeremy did not answer; he could not. He stared at her, his mouth agape, horrified by her words, by the rage in her eyes, and yet . . . He sighed deeply, pulling himself together. “I need to check, Yumi,” he said. He had intended it to sound firm, a declaration. But his voice issued as a feeble plea. “Please, I haven't felt right since we shut it down. But I'm sure that, if I just confirm it now, then I'll be fine.”

Yumi glared at him, her dark eyes boring into him like knives. There was a long, tense silence. Then Yumi said, “Fine!” and Jeremy relaxed. “But,” she said suddenly, “You'll be sending me to Lyoko, too.”

“What? But —”

“I'm sorry, Jeremy, but I can't trust you with this. I didn't tell the others what you were up to, because I didn't want to bring up any of the pain that we all had to endure because of this, and I intend to keep that promise. You can deal with the computer while I take a look around the other sectors, to be completely sure. And once we prove that there's _nothing_ there, we shut down the supercomputer _for good_ , like we agreed. Okay?”

Jeremy considered this for a moment. “Okay,” he said, finally. “Head for the Scanner Room, Yumi.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Jeremy, are you going to send me in, or not?” Yumi’s annoyed voice snapped in Jeremy’s ear.

She was standing inside one of the scanners, her arms folded across her chest, staring furiously at the opposite wall, which was brightly illuminated by the brilliant golden light flooding from the open scanners.

“Sorry, Yumi,” Jeremy replied. “It's been so long since I've used the supercomputer, I don't quite remember where I kept all my important codes.”

“You can work those out later, for now, just get on with the virtualization, will you?”

“Yeah, you're right. Hang on for a second. . . . Transfer, Yumi!” Jeremy said loudly, and the doors of the scanner suddenly slid shut. “Scanner, Yumi!” A hoop of light rose from the floor of the cabin and soared upwards, rotating around her as a pleasant warmth crept over Yumi’s body. “Virtualization!”

A rushing, roaring sound filled Yumi’s ears, at the same time a sudden blast of wind forced her hair upwards. There was a blinding flash of light, and next moment, Yumi found herself suspended in midair as her virtual form materialized completely. She hung limply in the air for a second or two, then she fell to the ground and stood up, now gazing around at Lyoko’s Forest Sector. It had been so long since she had last been here. She had thought that she couldn't wait until Lyoko and the supercomputer were behind them, but now, as she surveyed the area, a stream of memories came flooding into her mind.

She shook her head as Jeremy’s voice reverberated inside it, as though issuing from the sky itself.

“Yumi, are you okay? Did the virtualization process go all right?”

But Yumi did not answer; the sudden resurgence of past ventures to Lyoko was overwhelming.

“Yumi, are you okay?” Jeremy asked again, sounding more urgent. Still, she did not respond. Her eyes had fastened upon the glade of trees in front of her, reminding her forcefully of the time, so long ago, that Jeremy’s voice had rung out in very much the same manner as it did now, bearing the news that Odd was in mortal danger. And before that, when the Scyphozoa had appeared in the middle of battle and stolen her DNA sequence code, causing her to be stranded on Lyoko, as vulnerable as Aelita, facing the prospect of never being able to return home. Or further back, when she had actually fallen into the Digital Sea, lost in the void of the network. . . .

“ _Yumi_! Answer me, please! Are you all right?”

Jeremy’s terrified voice burst in on her thoughts, jolting her back to her senses, and Yumi shook her head again. “Huh? Oh — yes, I'm fine, Jeremy.”

Jeremy sighed in relief. “Good,” he said. “I'm sending you your Overwing so that you can get a better look around.”

“Okay, standing by, Jeremy.”

There was a moment's wait, then the heavy-fronted, silvery-grey structure of Yumi’s vehicle appeared in front of her. She stepped onto it, grasped the protruding handle, and soared off, deeper into the forest.

Back at the factory, however, Jeremy’s fingers were flying over his keyboard. Like his desktop, the buttons had accumulated a fine layer of dust, which he had blown off before using. As he sat there, entering various commands, different windows popped open onscreen, including that of the Super Scan, which he had just reactivated.

“Okay, Yumi, I've just launched the Super Scan to see if it picked up anything unusual. How's it going on your end?”

“It looks fine over here so far,” she said. “Nothing out of the ordinary going on in the Forest.”

“Got it.” Jeremy began to type again; this time a digital map appeared at the forefront of the screen, displaying a green dot that was Yumi, gliding along a path lined with trees. The map expanded, spreading to the right, and a tower swam into view on the surface. “As soon as you're done, you can head for the Way Tower to change sectors. It's 34 degrees westwards.”

“Okay, I read you,” Yumi’s voice said.

File after file Jeremy dug from the capacious depths of the supercomputer’s storage, including his own virtual diary. He had not informed any of the other Lyoko Warriors about its existence, but he had been secretly logging the details of every XANA attack, every significant update in their fight against the AI, for almost the entirety of the two years they had been engaged with the supercomputer. The latest entry swam to the top: December tenth, five months ago. He recalled vividly the details of the recording, for, as he had said in the video itself, it was one he had been thoroughly reluctant to make.

He had actually snuck back here under cover of darkness, and made the video the night before they were to return home for the Christmas holidays, where he had brought Aelita with him, as she had no one to spend it with.

He paused, his fingers suspended in midair as he imagined the look of mingled horror and anger that would steal over her features if it transpired that the job which her father had given his life to see through had not been done.

In Jeremy’s opinion, it was she who had been affected the most by their escapades on Lyoko, starting first with the fact that she had spent ten years in a kind of limbo when Franz Hopper had initially shut down the supercomputer, then another year before Jeremy had managed to successfully materialize her, in which she had been in constant danger of being destroyed by XANA. He remembered too how she had had the Keys to Lyoko forcibly taken from her, after XANA had falsely led them to believe that they would recover her missing fragment of memory and be free of him once and for all; how she had believed that Franz had been lost along with Lyoko, only to be filled with more hope as the message containing the necessary data to recreate Lyoko had arrived from the Internet, hope that was ripped from her as he was blasted into oblivion before her very eyes, sacrificing his life to provide the power to launch a program that Jeremy was here, believing might not have worked.

He leaned back in his chair, feeling sickened with himself. Was he just wondering whether it was true? Or did he . . . deep down . . . have some inkling of _hope_. . . ?

Lyoko had been an experience for all of them, and all had struggled to adapt once the thrill had ended. Jeremy had suddenly found himself with a world of free time now that he no longer had any significant programs to work on, and though their friendship, contrary to what he had feared when they had first shut the machine down, had not only survived but thrived, Jeremy couldn't help but feel a little . . . empty. Even so, did he truly want to reembark on that journey again. . . ?

“Jeremy, I'm coming into the Ice Sector now,” Yumi’s voice called through the com, startling Jeremy out of his preoccupation once again. He was almost glad of being jerked out of those unpleasant thoughts.

“Roger that, Yumi. Everything still quiet over there?”

“Yep, nothing moving that shouldn't be. And what about you? How's it going with the Super Scan?”

“It's just finished,” Jeremy said, as the program flashed again, displaying the results of the scan. Jeremy’s eyes sped along the length of the window, taking it in. “Nothing here either,” he said. To his slight surprise, he heard a faint edge of disappointment in his voice, and wondered anxiously if Yumi had heard it too. He continued quickly, “Nothing apart from a faint drop in the energy level of Sector Five, but it doesn't appear to be anything malicious.”

“Good, but I'm still going to finish my check here, that way we can be absolutely sure.”

“All right, Yumi, go. In the meantime, I'll continue searching from here.”

And so they remained there, Yumi gliding through the silent Lyoko like a ghost, moving from the Ice Sector to the Mountain Region, as Jeremy continued to scour Lyoko from his position at the keyboard for anything indicative of a disturbance of any kind. Admittedly, the distortion in the energy level of Sector Five was unusual, but as he had told Yumi, he could truthfully find no evidence that it boded ill intent, and he did not feel up to asking her to check out what could easily be nothing.

All too soon, however, Yumi finished raking the Desert, concluding the search with the message that she had found nothing out of place, and Jeremy rematerialized her with a wistful knot in his stomach. As she joined him in the lab, he was forced to concede that XANA was, after all, truly gone. . . .

Together they rode down in silence to the main processor of the supercomputer, and together they walked forward, seized the lever, and after exchanging a look, they brought it down once again. It was really over. . . .

“Where’ve you guys been?” Aelita asked curiously as Yumi and Jeremy took their seats at the table an hour later for dinner. Night was upon them, and the students were all seated in the cafeteria, talking excitedly over their meals.

“Tying up some loose ends,” said Yumi, with half a glance at Jeremy. “Did we miss anything?”

“Nothing much, just Leo Corentin getting detention from Jim.”

Jeremy choked on his glass of pumpkin juice. “ _What_?”

“Oh yeah,” Ulrich said, looking, as did everybody else, surprised at his reaction. “Happened about twenty minutes ago, right in the cafeteria, in fact.”

“Apparently he told Jim that a student had had a really bad accident, but it turned out not to be true, so Jim thought he'd been covering for someone,” Aelita explained. “When he asked him what really happened, Leo refused to say, so Jim punished him for lying.”

“He took humiliation in front of the whole cafeteria and detention from Jim for one of his friends,” Odd said, looking impressed. “Now that's a good buddy, you could learn a thing or two from him, Ulrich.” Ulrich frowned at him as Odd swallowed a croissant whole.

Jeremy pushed his tray away; his insides were burning with guilt. Leo had been punished because he had most generously helped Jeremy to fulfill a selfish goal, without even knowing what it was Jeremy had wanted to do. He scanned the surrounding tables, but neither Jim nor Leo was in sight.

“Jeremy, what's wrong?” Aelita asked, watching him crane his neck to survey the cafeteria.

“Where is Leo now?”

“I don't know, Jim took him outside after he finished yelling at him,” Ulrich told him.

Jeremy stood up so abruptly that everyone around the table jumped. “I just remembered, I have — uh — something to do,” he gabbled. “Be back in a few minutes.” And he rushed away before they could respond.

The least he could do was thank Leo. It wasn't right that he was being punished for something that had nothing to do with him.

“Jeremy’s acting really strangely today, don't you think?” Aelita said, looking at him with concern as he disappeared through the front door. Ulrich and Odd nodded, but Yumi continued to stare suspiciously at him until he was out of sight.

Jeremy located him within minutes. Leo was on the track field, perched on the dewy grass, a large garbage bag settled beside him. He leapt to his feet at the sound of the approaching footsteps, looking anxious. “I'm almost done, Jim!” he said, hurrying to pick up more. “I was just — oh, Jeremy,” he said, sounding relieved. “What are you doing down here?”

“I came to see how you were doing,” Jeremy said. “Listen, I'm really sorry that you have to be down here, it's all my fault.”

But Leo waved away his apology. “Don't sweat it; you didn't ask me to cover for you, and it was hilarious seeing Jim running around like an idiot.” He grinned. “I just hope it was worth it, though? My sister's going to chew my head off later, should at least be for a good cause.”

_No, it was a total bust_. “Yeah, it was, thanks!”

“Good to hear. Anyway, I should probably get back to work, Jim’ll be back to check on me soon, and you should get back up for dinner.”

“Actually, why don't I help you? It's the least I can —”

But the rest of Jeremy’s sentence was lost amid a sudden outbreak of tremendous _booms_! A huge earthquake seemed to be rolling through at that very moment, shaking the entire field, sending both Jeremy and Leo toppling to the floor with yells of shock.

The shaking persisted for a few more seconds, then stopped, very suddenly.

“What was —” Jeremy began, but Leo gave a gasp of horror, his pale blue eyes fixed on a point a great height above Jeremy’s head.

Jeremy wheeled around, and spotted it too. An enormous, monstrous thing was wading towards them out of the darkness, and with every step it took, the track field trembled under its massive weight. It stepped forward again, and the moonlight threw its figure into sharp relief: it rose to a height of twenty feet, with long, vine-like limbs as thick as tree trunks, a large, round base as wide as one of the school tractors, and a huge, jagged, crescent opening carved into its mottled orange frame. Jeremy had seen many odd things in his career of fighting against XANA, but a titanic Jack-o-lantern most certainly took the cake.


	4. Chapter 4

Their first warning came when Mr. Rouiler, the groundskeeper, burst into the cafeteria, his hair sticking up in all directions, his rake clasped in his trembling hands, spluttering wildly with a look of the utmost terror on his face. The room went deathly silent, watching him in shock, then Jim materialized beside him so fast it was as though he had been virtualized onto the spot.

“Calm down, Michael,” he said, cutting firmly through the man's stream of babble. “What's all this about pumpkins?”

“In t-the shed!” Mr. Rouiler gasped. “I was i-in the s-shed, bringing in some produce t-that we'd just harvested, and I set them down inside and went to fetch my e-equipment, and w-when I came back they were g-gone, and g-giant monster pumpkins were standing in the shed! I j-just got away, but t-they’re coming back to eat us all!”

A long silence followed this ominous pronouncement. Then the entire cafeteria burst into a fit of raucous laughter. Mr. Rouiler watched, bewildered, as everyone slumped forward in their seats, howling with laughter. Odd had fallen face-first into his plate of mashed potatoes, and Jim was doubled up, gasping, water welling in his eyes.

“Good one, Michael,” he choked, clutching his side. “Really needed that laugh —”

There was an enormous _boom_! outside, and the room fell silent once again, all eyes focused on the windows, aghast. There was another pause — then the roof quailed under what sounded like a colossal blow. The crash resounded through the room, cracks spread along the ceiling, spraying dirt down on the meals below. Then the roof was torn clean off.

“AAARGHH!”

The combined voices of everyone in the cafeteria screamed in horror as a massive, orange, pumpkin-like beast appeared above the gap where the roof had been, stuffing the huge slabs of rock into the large opening carved into its chest, like a grotesque mouth. Everyone leapt to their feet and raced towards the door — Mr. Rouiler was already long gone — as the creature’s tree-like limbs thrashed and flailed in the room below, smashing the tables inside.

“No!” Ulrich cried, appalled, as they piled outside, where another of the creatures was advancing upon them, this one an elephantine tuber. The students’ screams filled the air as they scattered in all directions.

“Quick, to the factory!” Odd shouted, more out of habit than anything else.

“Wait, where's Jeremy?” Aelita squealed.

“Oh no, he must have gone back upstairs!” Yumi said.

The pumpkin-beast was moving away from the roof, turning towards them, while the other continued to demolish the main building, sending huge chunks of rock raining down upon them.

“You two get to the factory, we'll find Jeremy and meet you there!” Odd said.

“Be careful,” Aelita said.

“Don't worry, Princess! We'll find Einstein and meet you back there in no time!” Odd grinned. Yumi and Aelita exchanged looks, then they sprinted off, the sound of the monsters crashing around still resounding in their ears. The pair dashed into the forest, which was becoming darker as night drew nearer, weaving around thick tree trunks.

They had almost reached the spot where they knew the secret entrance to the sewers was concealed, when Yumi suddenly hissed, “Stop!” and came to an abrupt halt behind a tree. She raised a finger to her lips, then peered around the trunk and motioned to Aelita, who looked around as well. Something was moving around just up ahead, but Aelita caught a glimpse of blond and dashed out from behind the tree, hurrying forward with a smile stretching her lips.

“Jeremy!”

“Huh — Aelita!”

Jeremy, who was midway through moving the manhole cover, stood up and ran towards her, and the two embraced.

“You're okay!” Aelita said, relief spreading across her face.

“Yes, but not for long, there's a monster roaming around the school —”

“We know,” Yumi said, walking forward as well. “Odd and Ulrich stayed behind to take care of it, and — huh, who's this?” She had just noticed that Jeremy was not alone; another figure was standing a short distance away, clutching a long stick and squinting into the dark copse behind them. “Leo?” she said, recognizing the profile. “What are you doing here?”

“It's my fault he got detention earlier,” Jeremy explained. “I was heading for the factory, but Jim caught me. Leo's the one who got me out of trouble, so I went to see him, and then the monster showed up. We managed to get away just in time — luckily, they're not very fast.”

“Speaking of those pumpkin things, anybody know what they are?” Leo asked. Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremy all looked at one another, the same question burning in each mind, though they were too afraid to ask it. Saying it out loud would make it real, material. Another giant crash sounded in the distance, bringing them back to their senses.

“There's no time, we have to get to the factory!” Jeremy said.

“The old abandoned factory on the other side of town? But why?” Leo asked, as Jeremy pulled the manhole cover aside and began to clamber downwards.

“We'll explain on the way, just hurry up!”  
  


“Odd, on your left!”

“Huh? Ah!”

Odd had wheeled around at just the right moment; he leapt forward and rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the tuber’s huge fist as it shot down towards him. The ground where it had hit shattered like glass, but to Odd’s horror, when the fist withdrew, he caught a glimpse of something wriggling in the space — then next second it had shot into the air, a vine as thick as a python, and it came swooping down upon him. Odd ducked aside again — but the plant was not to be fooled twice. It followed his movement and curled around his ankle like a grotesque snake, then flung him backwards into the wall; he let out a grunt of pain as he struck the stone, falling unconscious from the impact.

“Odd, no!” Ulrich yelled. He dodged his own striking vine and positively flew over to Odd’s side. “Odd! Wake up, please! _Odd_!”

But Odd did not stir. A menacing thud made Ulrich look up. The pumpkin was approaching slowly, its horrid mouth oozing ropes of greenish slime. It reached down towards him, yet Ulrich didn't run; he clutched tighter at Odd’s lifeless form, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, intending to shield him from the oncoming strike. But it never came.

What _did_ come, however, was a muffled thud and a defiant shout of, “Hey, over here, you overgrown vegetable!”

Ulrich looked up just in time to see the pumpkin lash out at a tall youth with dark blue hair. “ _William_?”

“Ulrich, grab Odd and run, now!” William shouted, as he wove around another whip-like slash that cleaved through the wall behind him. “Don't worry about me, just go!”

Ulrich did not need telling twice. He heaved Odd from the floor and flung him over his shoulder. His knees buckled slightly under Odd’s weight as he ran. They had truly fallen out of shape without all the practice that Lyoko offered them, he thought ruefully, and then, suddenly — _Lyoko_.

This must be the result of a tower being activated on Lyoko. That, or Odd had finally gotten his wish and the world had become more like the nightmarish world of Hospital of Horrors, one of his favourite TV series. Though in Ulrich’s opinion, one answer seemed much more plausible than the other. He burst into the wreckage of the main building, barreled deeper into the structure, set Odd down in a fairly intact corridor, whipped his cell phone out of his pocket, and dialed Jeremy’s number.  
  


“So, you're saying that XANA . . . XANA might still be alive?” Aelita asked quite calmly, as the group made their way up the ladder that led to the bridge.

Jeremy hung his head. “That's what it looks like, yes. I'm so, so sorry, Aelita, I know how you must feel, after all this —”

“Yeah, sorry to interrupt your fascinating conversation, but if what you're saying is true, and this evil virus is trying to kill everyone, how do you expect to stop it?” Leo asked.

“By going to Lyoko, that's the only way we can deactivate the towers.” Jeremy pushed open the metallic lid and emerged onto the bridge, looking out at the factory, illuminated by pale moonlight. It looked untouched; the monsters hadn't been here.

“But that doesn't make any sense, I checked all of Lyoko this morning, and so did you!” Yumi said angrily. “There wasn't anything there, was there?”

“Well . . .”

“Well, what?” Yumi said suspiciously. The group moved forward, seized the hanging ropes, and swung down towards the elevator. Jeremy did not speak until they were inside, moving down to the lab room.

“I did notice something strange this morning. . . .”

“ _What_? But why didn't you say?”

“It was this weird drop in the energy level of Sector Five. I checked it out, of course, but it didn't show any signs of being . . . you know, _him_.”

“Sector Five,” Yumi breathed. Then she leaned back against the elevator wall and groaned, “Of course, the only sector I didn't check!”

The elevator door opened and Jeremy marched into the computer room. Seating himself in the revolving chair, he turned to them and said, “Hurry down to the lowest level, get the supercomputer back on, and then head for the Scanner Room; I'm sending you in right now. It'll be much faster if you search Lyoko at the same time I do. Leo, you can stay with me.”

Leo took his place beside Jeremy, gazing at the machinery, as he awaited the computer's reactivation. His pocket suddenly vibrated. Curious, he pulled out his phone, looked at the screen, and said, “Ulrich?”

“Jeremy, at last, where are you?”

“I'm at the computer lab, with Yumi and Aelita, they're heading in to Lyoko right now.”

“So you . . . you think it could really be him, then?” Ulrich said uncertainly on the other end.

Jeremy sighed. “I don't know what to think, Ulrich, but this trip to Lyoko will definitely tell. Is Odd okay?”

“He's out cold, but he's still alive.”

“Good. Stand by until we can figure out what's going on on Lyoko.”

“Roger.”

Jeremy hung up, and at last the supercomputer screen flared to life. He set to work, preparing the virtualization process. “Okay, ladies, we're ready to go. Are you in position?”

“Yes, you can go ahead, Jeremy,” Aelita called.

“All right.” Jeremy began to while away at the keyboard again, watched all the time by Leo. “Transfer, Yumi! . . . Transfer, Aelita! . . . Scanner, Yumi! . . . Scanner, Aelita! . . . Virtualization!” He concluded the process by tapping the enter key, then watched as Yumi and Aelita’s digital avatars loaded fully and their dots appeared on the screen as they materialized into the Arena of Sector Five.

“Now, don't waste any time, ladies. Head straight for the tower!”

“Okay, Jeremy, we're on our way!” Yumi said, and they darted off through the open footbridge and into the maze-like structure of Carthage.  
  


“Odd? Odd, are you okay? Odd?”

Odd stirred, groaning, and opened his eyes.

“Odd!” Ulrich said in relief.

“What — what happened?” Odd croaked.

“You were knocked out, but William saved us.”

“William?”

“Yeah, he's fighting the monsters right now, but don't worry, he's tough, that guy,” Ulrich said, remembering the day he and William had partnered to destroy one of XANA’s Krabs, which he had materialized onto earth. “Listen, Yumi, Aelita, and Jeremy are all at the factory already. They're going to see what the cause of all this is.”

“You — you don't think it's . . . ?”

Odd did not finish the sentence; he didn't need to. Ulrich knew precisely what he was asking, but the problem was, the answer was equally horrifying regardless of whether it was or wasn't XANA’S doing. Before they could say anything else, they heard a loud shriek from somewhere nearby.

“Huh?” Ulrich said, looking around. “What was that?”

“Someone's in trouble, we have to help them!” Odd cried. He was already on his feet, streaking off down the hall in the direction the noise had sounded from.

“Odd, wait!” Ulrich hurtled after him, catching him up a minute later as he turned a corner and ended up in the corridor outside the Science Lab, where a horrible sight met his eyes. Another snare of plants was writhing in the middle of the hallway, and borne upon it was a girl who was in their class, yet who they had never had a proper conversation with besides Odd once trying to ask her out. She was currently being hoisted up to the ceiling, wrapped in vines, screaming and screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Don't worry!” Ulrich yelled. “We'll get you out of —”

“ _GERONIMO_!”

“Huh?” Ulrich whirled about and next moment dove aside in shock. A girl was pelting down the hall towards them, her long brown hair flying behind her, a flask whose contents were swishing violently clasped in her hands. Without a trace of fear on her face, she launched herself forward into the air and uncorked the flask, then dashed the liquid inside all over the stalk, which was clearly some kind of acid.

The stalk began to blister and steam, shriveling up as the solution melted through. Then the girl atop the sprout crashed to the floor as it stopped wriggling; Odd dove forward to stop her from splattering on the ground, then when he had set her on her feet and she choked out a word of thanks, he turned to the newcomer in awe.

“That was amazing!” he said.

“Yeah, I know,” said the girl, and she gave a roguish wink.

“Hey, you're Gabrielle Corentin!” Ulrich said suddenly, finally placing a name to the face. “Leo Corentin’s sister!”

To his immense surprise, the girl's face suddenly fell. “Yes,” she said, “but I don't know where he is. He was supposed to be being punished by Jim, but now he — he . . .” She broke off, gulping.

“Hey, don't worry,” Odd said soothingly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure he's fine.”

“Yeah, but the other students aren't,” Ulrich said. “We'll have to fend off the other plants until we hear back from the factory. Where did you get that acid earlier?” he asked Gabrielle.

For answer, she pointed towards the Science Lab door behind them. “I made it,” she said proudly. “It does do well to listen to Mrs. Hertz sometimes. Come on, let's go!”  
  


“Now take the passage on your left . . . Okay, you should be able to see the tower now. . . .”

“Uh — well — we can. There's just one problem,” Yumi said. “The tower — isn't activated.”

“What?” Jeremy yelped, sitting bolt upright in his chair. “But that's impossible, how else would the monsters have gotten here?”

“Hmm . . . Jeremy, the drop in Sector Five’s energy levels, have you figured out what caused it yet?” Aelita asked. “Maybe that has something to do with it.”

“No, I still can't see anything except — hey!” Jeremy said suddenly. He had paused, gazing at the screen, as another window suddenly popped open, bearing the results of the Super Scan, which he had relaunched after virtualizing Yumi and Aelita.

“What? What is it?” Leo asked, moving closer.

“Aelita, Yumi, you have to get to the Celestial Dome, there's some kind of disturbance taking place there — I think it might be related to the energy drop. Hurry!”

Jeremy guided them back to the elevator shaft, where they took the lift up to the Celestial Dome. As the shaft slid open, they hurried outside. Aelita paused quite suddenly, gazing with wide eyes out at the vastness of Sector Five. Memories came surging back, how she and Odd had come here months before, seeking to launch the program that would end it all, how the program had needed more power to be launched, how Franz Hopper had appeared to supply it, and how it had been his final act. . . .

“Aelita?” Yumi said gently.

Aelita shook her head, then moved to the edge of the platform, where the master interface was already waiting for them. “Wait, Jeremy, you were right — there _is_ something happening here!”

“What? Can you describe it?”

“I — I'll send you a visual,” Aelita said. A moment later, another window sprang open on the computer screen, displaying an image of the walls of Sector Five, comprised entirely of countless data files, and near the northernmost tunnel —

“What is that?” Leo breathed.

It was the same symbol that Jeremy thought he had seen on Mrs. Hertz’s projector screen for that one, terrifying moment — the symbol of XANA, a lone dot hooped by two larger rings, with four lines protruding from the outermost ring, imprinted against the walls, glowing a deep gold.

“ _XANA_ ,” Jeremy whispered. It was true . . . it was all true. . . .

Aelita, who had been gazing silently at the symbol as well, turned her attention back to the interface, analyzing the data. Then, quite abruptly, she gasped. “Jeremy! It's — it's — _oh_!”

“What is it, Aelita?” Yumi said at once.

“That sign — it seems to be a sort of access — to another virtual world!”

“What?” Jeremy and Yumi said in unison.

“Yes, there's all kinds of data here about it, a second world, similar to Lyoko, but the sectors seem different. The energy level distortion, is because XANA is using Sector Five’s energy to maintain that access!”

“But why would he do that?” Jeremy said blankly.

“I'm not sure, but — Jeremy, what if the activated tower, is on this second world?”

“That would explain why we couldn't find anything on our sweep of Lyoko earlier,” Yumi said.

“Jeremy, we have to check it out, it's the only way,” Aelita said.

“What? No way! It's too dangerous, we don't know anything about this new world!”

“We have no choice, Jeremy!” Aelita said fiercely. “Odd, Ulrich, the rest of the school, they're all in danger, we have to deactivate the tower — now!”

“But —”

“Jeremy, Aelita’s right,” Yumi said. “It's not just the school either; we don't know how many of those things there are, or if any of them has left the school. The whole city's in danger, so is the factory.”

There was a short pause. Then —

“Oh, all right,” Jeremy sighed. “I'm sending you the Overwing.”

And seconds later, the Overwing appeared before them. Yumi leapt onto it, grasped the handle, and a moment later, Aelita joined her.

“Be careful, you two,” Jeremy said, as Yumi took off, soaring towards the symbol of XANA. As they drew nearer, they saw that the center dot was indeed the entrance to a kind of deep tunnel. Yumi hesitated for a moment, then plunged in. For nearly a whole minute, all they could see was the reddish-gold walls of the access as they glided along.

But then an opening appeared somewhere in the distance, and Yumi streaked through it, emerging through a tunnel similar to the ones they had often used to escape Sector Five for their voyages in the Digital Sea. Below was a mass of solid black, with countless huge, dark volcanoes rising all over, lighting the sky with the luminous red glow of the digital lava bubbling inside them.

The moment they had entered this new Sector, the Super Scan blared to life, projecting the image of the activated tower and its location.

“Aelita, you were right!” Jeremy told her. “The tower is situated at 28° to the east from where you are.”

“There it is!” Aelita cried, pointing, and sure enough, the enormous pillar stood out quite visibly on their right, a column of white rising against a mass of black, ringed by a dark red halo.

“But — where are all the monsters?” Yumi wondered, looking around. The area seemed quite deserted.

“No idea, I can't see anything on the screens,” Jeremy said, sounding bewildered.

“Do you think it could be a trap?” Aelita asked.

“I don't know, but be careful, ladies. We could have a Sector Five Exploration Day all over again.”

They veered down towards the tower, moving cautiously and looking around all the while. But apparently, it wasn't a trap. They reached the tower quite unencumbered, Aelita rushed inside, and soared upwards to the second level. She approached the interface with the faintest trepidation, then she touched it. Her handprint registered immediately on the window, followed by her name, and the code: _Lyoko_.

Jeremy watched from his screen as the tower reverted to a neutral status, bewildered yet suspicious, wondering how it could possibly be that easy.

“Are you going to launch a return to the past, Jeremy?” Aelita asked.

“We'll have to, won't we? But I'm not sure what’ll happen if I do it when you're in XANA’s territory. You'll have to get back to Sector Five first. Hurry!”

“A return to the past?” Leo asked, as Jeremy began to set up the program. “What's that?”

“It's a function of the supercomputer, which allows us to go back to a set period in time if we need to,” Jeremy explained. “That way we can usually end up undoing most of the damage XANA does in times like this.”

“You can _time travel_?” Leo said eagerly.

“Well, yes, I guess you could say that, but only backwards. And there's another drawback too.”

“What's that?”

“Jeremy, we're back at the Celestial Dome.”

“Great, Yumi, get ready now. You see, only people who've recorded a virtual image on Lyoko aren't affected by the return trips, Leo. You've been a great help, but unfortunately, you won't remember any of this, and that's probably for the best. But on the bright side, at least you won't have to do that detention again.”

“Huh? Hey, wait —”

“ _Return to the past, now_!”


	5. Chapter 5

The return trip took them all back to the site of that morning's breakfast; everyone was once again seated around their usual table in the cafeteria, silent in the wake of those horrific few hours that they had just erased from history. Nobody was eating, nobody was recounting the details of weekend homework assignments or Jeremy’s brilliant triumph against Odd the previous day, nor was anybody looking at each other. Minutes passed in silence, the trays of food between them getting colder with each one.

Then Jeremy drew a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, but Odd beat him to it.

“I can't believe it,” he said in a low, anxious voice. “After all this time . . . but . . . _how_?”

“The question of the century,” Jeremy sighed. He leaned forward in his chair and laced his hands together upon the table, gazing absently down at his untouched tray. “We always knew XANA was a slippery old cockroach, after everything he's done to avoid destruction in the past, but this time. . . . After everything — it still wasn't enough.” He dropped his head to the table, wrapping his arms around it. Hours ago, before the return to the past, he had been eager to find out whether it was true, whether they truly were free of XANA, but now the knowledge that he had never really been destroyed seemed to be sinking into him like a stone, threatening to consume him.

“But everything we've done — everything we've _been_ doing —” Yumi said, her voice quivering. “We were supposed to be done with this!” She pounded her side of the table in fury, sending meatballs flying everywhere. But no one paid any attention. Yumi closed her eyes, grinding her teeth. “We were finally in a good place — and now —”

“I know,” Ulrich said quietly. “Ugh, this is a mess! Football season was supposed to be starting soon!”

“And what about my family?” Yumi said. “We were finally in a good place, all of that's going to be ruined if we have to go back to fighting XANA!”

Jeremy looked up, his eyes finding Aelita, who alone had not spoken so far. He sat upright in his chair and reached for her hand, but Aelita snatched hers from the table before he could take it. He looked at her for a moment, both shocked and slightly hurt, and she stared resolutely in another direction. But then he remembered what this sudden, unpleasant development must have cost her, and he realized he couldn't blame her — or any of them, really.

“I still don't understand — _how_?” Ulrich said, repeating Odd’s question. “Didn't you say the multi-agent program wiped out everything onscreen, Jeremy?”

“It did. I saw it happen. I have no idea how he could have survived.”

“Well, it doesn't matter,” Yumi said firmly. “All we have to do is shut down the supercomputer, and we'll be free of him.”

“It's not that simple, Yumi,” Jeremy said, shaking his head. “We _did_ do that, earlier, remember? XANA clearly must have been operating from a site that's not connected to the supercomputer, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to launch his attack.”

“Well, what are we supposed to do then?” Yumi said furiously. “Accept that everything we finally put behind us is back again? That everything we worked for is going to crumble to the ground _again_?”

“We don't have a choice!” Jeremy said, just as fiercely. He understood her anger, but they were wasting time arguing; they hadn't even told Odd and Ulrich about the second Lyoko yet. “We're the only ones who know about XANA, the only ones who have a connection to Lyoko, only we can fight him!”

“Then it's time we do what we should have done long ago, and tell the authorities!” Yumi had half-risen from her chair, her fists clenched upon the table, tears of rage sparkling in her eyes. “We've already lost too much, and besides, we've long since materalized Aelita, and her father —” She fell silent as Aelita turned to face her with a defiant expression, looking aghast. “I — I'm sorry, Aelita. I just meant — there's nothing there for us anymore. We've done all we can and it still wasn't enough. We're just five kids, this shouldn't be our fight anymore!”

Ulrich and Odd looked deeply uncomfortable, and Aelita strangely blank. But Jeremy’s mind was oddly cool and clear as he gazed into Yumi’s livid face, an idea blooming inside his mind. “Apart from getting us in a whole mess of trouble if we _do_ tell the authorities about XANA,” he said calmly, “I have a different idea. You're right, Yumi, we _are_ just five kids. That is, for now . . .”

“Huh? Hey, wait —” Ulrich said, looking bewildered.

“You're not saying what I think you're saying?” Odd said, gaping at him along with everyone else.

“I am,” said Jeremy, nodding. “We don't need to tell the authorities, or to give up on the lives we've built in the past eight months. . . . We just need to enlarge our team.”

“But Jeremy,” Aelita said, speaking for the first time. “Think about what you're suggesting: the supercomputer, XANA, my father’s history — the secrets we have are too big to share with just anyone. Having someone accidentally stumble upon them and launching a return to the past to make them forget afterwards is one thing, but you want to bring more people into the fold? Think of all that's happened up to now, the weights they would have to carry — think of what happened the last time we tried to recruit!”

“I have. The problem wasn't bringing in a new recruit, it was bringing in _William_. He had great potential, but Yumi was right, he was reckless and stubborn. He got himself captured because he refused to listen to our warnings, and after he learned, he proved that he was still susceptible, and that XANA had taken quite a liking to him. If we do go on with this, we'll need to choose more carefully, bring the recruits up to speed beforehand, make them understand the gruesome severity of the situation before we do anything serious with them. . . .”

“You know, it's not necessarily a bad idea,” Ulrich said, his hand on his chin and looking thoughtful. “More members offers more flexibility, here and on Lyoko. . . . But it depends on the recruits. Who do you have in mind?”

“Leo Corentin,” Jeremy said promptly.

“What?” Ulrich said, taken aback.

“Hey, we've met him a couple of times in the Rec Room, haven't we?” said Odd.

Jeremy nodded. “And he covered for me this morning when I got into trouble with Jim, helped me escape from the monsters, and took pretty readily to everything when we brought him to the factory. I think he'd be a great addition.”

“I second that vote,” Aelita said. “He seems very nice.”

“In that case, I recommend his sister, Gabrielle,” Odd said.

“That brunette who turned you down a few months ago?” Aelita asked curiously. Odd flushed.

“That's the one,” said Ulrich, chortling. “But I actually agree with Odd, she helped us out big time with those monsters. She's brave, smart, resourceful, actually listens to Mrs. Hertz when she talks without dying of boredom, so I guess she can take a few hits on Lyoko. She helped us save about eight kids from the plants, and took one down just before the return trip.”

“So that's two votes each for the Corentins. What do you think, Yumi?” Jeremy asked.

“Well . . . well they both _seem_ nice enough,” she admitted grudgingly. “But” — she took a deep breath — “as long as we don't have another William situation on our hands, then I agree with both choices.”

“And anyone else?” Odd said. “Because you know, Gabrielle’s friend, Mila, seemed pretty brave too —”

“Brave, huh?” Ulrich said, smirking. “Which part, exactly? Her shiny black hair, or her nice big green eyes?”

“Hey, if you're suggesting that I only brought her up because she's pretty —” Odd began in affronted tones.

“Aha! See, you admit it!” Ulrich said triumphantly, pointing at Odd. Before Odd could retort, however, another voice spoke, and it was not, as they had expected, Sissi’s.

“Hey, Jeremy, do you mind if we sit here? We need to talk.”

It was Leo and Gabrielle Corentin, both standing before them, without trays, and looking anxious.

“Uh — yeah, of course, Leo,” Jeremy said, glancing around at his friends, who all looked mildly surprised. “As a matter of fact, we wanted to talk to you too.”

“Yeah, I think I know what about,” Leo said grimly as he pulled up two more chairs. He propped himself down, glanced nervously around as though to check that nobody was listening, then stared at Jeremy and the rest of the group with an extremely serious expression on his face. “ _Lyoko_.”

Odd slipped off his chair; Ulrich overturned his cold cup of pumpkin juice; and Yumi, Jeremy, and Aelita gasped so dramatically that the entire cafeteria went quiet, staring around at them curiously. Jeremy recovered first.

“We can't talk about this here, let's head to the factory!” he hissed. He stood up, and so did everybody else. They all filed towards the door, earning many curious glances as they half-walked, half-ran through the cafeteria, leaving their full trays on the table. As they stepped outside, however, they were accosted again.

“ _There_ you all are, I've been searching everywhere for you.” William was walking towards them, looking furious. “I checked the dorms first but you were all gone already. How come you didn't think to tell me that XAN —?” But at this point he noticed Leo and Gabrielle and fell silent at once, his eyes wide.

“It's okay,” Jeremy assured him. “Well — no, not really. But they know. Follow us, we're heading to the factory.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

Nearly a half hour later, the Lyoko Warriors, the Corentins, and William were all inside the lab room, the elevator door closing behind them as they stepped out of the lift. Jeremy immediately veered for his chair, and Yumi, Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd crowded around him, looking around at William, Leo, and Gabrielle, who had all, it seemed, by some unspoken agreement, come to a halt on the other side of the room.

There was a moment's silence, then Jeremy spoke. “Firstly, to answer your question, William, this attack by the pumpkin monsters _was_ XANA."

“I knew it!” William said, pounding palm with his fist.

“But, we weren't aware of anything until the same time _you_ were. He seemed to have found a way to avoid total destruction — again. It's all a mess,” Jeremy groaned.

“Okay, so then, what are we doing to stop him?” William asked.

“We?” Yumi said, raising her eyebrows.

“Yes, _we,_ ” William said defiantly. “I _am_ a Lyoko Warrior, I swore to it, remember?” His eyes met Yumi’s and she flushed, knowing that William was remembering that day Yumi had said those words to him and briefly jogged him back to himself. Ulrich was looking suspiciously from one to the other. “I may not remember a lot from when I was under his influence, but that was one of the few things that came back to me. I'm just as much a part of this group as you are, Yumi.”

“Debatable,” Jeremy cut in. “Listen, I know you want to help, but as it is, with XANA in such a weakened state, he'd be glad to have you back under his control, and to be honest, you wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight if he were to target you again, William. We just can't take that chance —”

“But you're willing to take that chance with _them_?” William said angrily, pointing at Leo and Gabrielle. “Yeah, I'm not stupid, you brought them to Lyoko or you were planning to, how else would they know? You barely even know them!”

“And neither does XANA,” Jeremy said calmly. “He won't be expecting them. Besides, we weren't fully sold on them just yet — no offense,” he added to the siblings. “After all, we still don't know how you managed to remember the events from before the return trip because, William, while we _did_ bring Leo to the factory, neither of them actually went to Lyoko, and no one who hasn't has ever been able to remember — including me. So how did you?”

“I have no idea,” Leo said, and he sounded sincere. “One moment I was there beside you, listening to you telling me about the back in time function, and the next there was this bright light and I was back in my room, with a ringing alarm clock programmed to go off at 6:00.”

“The same thing happened to me too,” Gabrielle said. “I was melting down plants with these two and then — _poof_! Just like that, everything went back to normal. Leo came to find me and we started telling each other about what we saw, then we went to talk to you.”

“Did you say you were debating whether or not you wanted us to join your group?” Leo said.

“Um — well —”

“Because you can count me in! Now that I know about all this, there's no way I could ever live with myself if I didn't do anything about it.”

“Me too,” said Gabrielle. “And I'm dying to see this virtual world Leo told me about.”

There was a pause in which Jeremy, Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd all turned to face Yumi.

“We've cast our votes, Yumi. It's your turn now,” Jeremy said.

She frowned deeply at them. Then she sighed. “Oh . . . _fine_! I vote yes on Leo and Gabrielle —”

“Yes!” Leo said exuberantly.

“But William is a different story,” she went on loudly.

William made to retort, but Jeremy forestalled him.

“Yumi’s right, William. We just can't take the chance.”

“Hey, hang on!” Odd said suddenly. “Didn't we all vote to take William in?”

“Well, yes, but —”

“Then it's up to all of us to decide whether or not we keep him, isn't it?”

“He's right, you two,” Aelita chimed in. “I propose a majority vote. What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me,” Ulrich said, shrugging, as Odd nodded.

“Okay, fine,” Jeremy conceded. “All those who vote that William should be allowed into the group again —”

Aelita, Odd, and, to Jeremy’s surprise, Ulrich, all thrust their hands into the air before he could even finish. Jeremy sighed again, then put up his own. “Fine. And you, Yumi?”

Yumi and William glared at each other, a silent battle of wills. There was a long, dangerous silence, yet no one dared break it. “All right,” Yumi said quietly, after what felt like hours. “William can join — if,” she added severely as he cheered, “he's willing to accept a few conditions.” William’s face fell slightly. “You're too much of a liability right now, William,” Yumi continued. “XANA would rejoice at the opportunity to have you back. So we'll accept you, if you promise to shelve your ego and be a little more level-headed. You'll do exactly as we say, when we say it, without any complaints or questions, otherwise you're out — _for good_. Understand?”

William stared at the floor, a muscle jumping in his jaw. Then he met Yumi’s hard gaze, his face set and determined, and nodded.

“Welcome to the group then!” Odd said brightly. “The new generation of Lyoko Warriors!”

“Wait a second, Odd,” Jeremy said. “There's still a few things they — and you and Ulrich — need to know before we can continue. Firstly, Leo, Gabrielle, Lyoko is comprised of a total of five sectors: four core territories in order of the Glacial Region; the Forest Territory; the Desert; and the Mountains; along with a fifth, central sector, known as Carthage. It's like the control center for Lyoko.”

“Back in the past, Sector Five could only be reached by taking a transporter from the edge of one of the four core territories, but now Jeremy is capable of materializing us directly into Sector Five,” Aelita said.

“Not without a few bumps on the way,” Ulrich said bitterly, and they knew he was referring to the time Jeremy had accidentally separated his mind and body on a test trial for virtualization directly into Sector Five.

Jeremy frowned at him. “ _Anyway_ , usually when you're virtualized onto Lyoko, you appear there in a digital manifestation of your subconscious, along with a set of weapons, and in some cases, even additional abilities. These will be your key to fighting XANA physically on Lyoko — or should I say, Lyoko _Two_.”

“What?” Ulrich, Odd, and William gasped. Jeremy nodded gravely.

“We discovered earlier: the supercomputer didn't pick up any activated towers on Lyoko, because there _was_ no activated tower on Lyoko, not ours anyway. Yumi and Aelita discovered a program being run in the Celestial Dome, which accounts for a drop I noticed in the energy levels of Sector Five. As it turns out, XANA was using that energy to project an access point to Lyoko Two, which appears to still be open even now. I have no idea how XANA managed to survive, or how and where he's projecting this second Lyoko from, but I do know that XANA appears to be extremely weak at this moment. If we work fast, we may be able to prevent him from regaining his earlier power and stop him altogether — for good this time.

“Which is where you all come in. At this point, Aelita and I are constants in this fight against XANA, we can't leave, no matter what. William, Leo, Gabrielle, you've already pledged. Odd, Ulrich, I know you guys have got football practice and other responsibilities . . . so if you want to call it quits —”

“Are you insane?” Odd said at once, looking disbelievingly at Jeremy.

“If XANA’s back that means the entire world's in danger again, no matter how much I was looking forward to football I can't sit back and do nothing while he tries to destroy everything I know and love,” Ulrich said.

“Spoken like a true Lyoko Warrior,” Odd said proudly, clapping him on the back. “There you have it, General Einstein, Private Stern and Commander Della Robia are back in for business! Retirement was nice and all, but I do have to admit it did get a little boring after a while.”

“And what about you, Yumi?” Aelita asked tentatively. “Are you coming back too?”

She looked anguished. She opened her mouth to speak several times, but closed it. Eventually, she took a deep, shuddering breath and said, “I will, but things can't be like last time. I can't let Lyoko be a greater priority than the rest of my life anymore. It took too long and way too much effort to pick up the pieces last year. I just can't again.”

“We understand, Yumi,” Jeremy said. “It's not fair for you to continue to sacrifice your own happiness for us the way you have in the past; besides, that's why we expanded our team, isn't it?” He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

“Right,” Ulrich interjected, “so about this new Lyoko —”

“Yes. I think we need to set up another exploration date, to gather more information about the new virtual world. For now, we still have time. You guys can go back to school, fill in Leo, William, Gabrielle, and — if she consents to join — that girl Mila as much as you can while you're there. Aelita and I will stay here and try to find out as much as we can about XANA’s reappearance.”

“Roger that, Einstein.” Odd saluted cheerily, and he, Ulrich, Yumi, William, Leo, and Gabrielle vanished into the elevator and out of sight, leaving Jeremy and Aelita alone. Both burst into speech at the same time:

“Aelita, I —”

“Jeremy, I —”

“Sorry, you go first.”

“I'm sorry, Jeremy, about the way I've been acting.”

“I understand, Aelita. XANA’s reappearance means that — that we didn't finish the job last time. But we'll do it properly this time, Aelita,” he added fiercely. “We'll beat XANA, for good, and make sure your father didn't sacrifice himself for nothing.”

“But that's the thing,” Aelita said awkwardly. “I . . . I _don't_ feel that way.”

Jeremy was taken aback. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Ever since it happened, a part of me has been thinking . . . _hoping_ , that maybe it wasn't true. That maybe XANA had actually survived.”

“But why would you want that?” Jeremy said, goggling at her as though she were mad, and inwardly cursing his own hypocrisy.

“Because . . . I thought . . . if _XANA_ could have survived all that, then maybe . . .”

“Maybe your father somehow survived too?” Jeremy finished quietly.

“I know it's silly —” Aelita began hopelessly.

“No, no, of course not! In fact, now that you mention it. . . . I'd never even thought of it, but if XANA survived, there definitely is a chance that your father did too, even if it is a slim one. And I think we should take it. We'll beat XANA, and we'll do all we can to rescue your Dad, Aelita.” He smiled at her, and her eyes filled with tears.

“Oh Jeremy.” She flung herself into his arms, and Jeremy held her tightly, speaking softly into her hair.

“That's a promise.”


	6. Chapter 6

Upon returning to school, Gabrielle immediately veered off towards her dormitory to find her friend, Mila, who had also fought with Odd and Ulrich against the plant creatures before the tower had been deactivated, and proceeded to explain everything she had learned that day to her. Along the way back, they had discussed the possibility of Mila not reacting to the news of the existence of XANA and Lyoko as they hoped, and what would need to happen should she take a negative stance. Fortunately, they had no need to launch a return to the past again, for Mila took almost at once to the news.

Excited at the prospect of visiting an actual virtual world, and simultaneously horrified at the thought of a malevolent computer program trying to destroy the world, she consented to become their newest and final recruit in the fight against XANA, and headed back with Gabrielle to meet the others under the benches at the front of the school.

Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi spent the rest of the day entertaining Leo, Gabrielle, William, and Mila with their past adventures on Lyoko between classes. Leo, Mila, and Gabrielle listened to these thrilling tales with increasing awe, while William, on the other hand, was becoming steadily more impatient, being forced to relive past experiences involving himself that he could not even remember. Luckily, Jeremy and Aelita turned up around dinnertime, and their sudden appearance brought an abrupt stop to the conversation, which had somehow devolved into a fierce debate about who was the better Lyoko Warrior of Odd and Ulrich.

Odd, who was passionately recounting his defeat of William and several hornets, and the magnificent salvage of the mission to destroy the supercomputer projecting the very first Replika that they had discovered in blow-by-blow detail, fell silent as the two took their seats.

“So how did it go?” Yumi asked at once.

“Nothing,” Jeremy said gloomily, shaking his head. “Still no data on how XANA could possibly have survived, or where he's operating from now. Our best guess at gaining any new information would be exploring Lyoko Two.”

“We're not seriously going to keep calling it that, are we?” Ulrich said, sounding impatient.

“Ah, you must be Mila,” Jeremy said, ignoring Ulrich, as his eyes fell on the unfamiliar face of a girl with long, sleek, black hair and light green eyes, who was sitting beside Gabrielle. She smiled at Jeremy.

“I am,” she said. “Odd and Ulrich were just telling us all about Lyoko. It sounds _fascinating_. I can't wait to go.”

“Oh — um — well, about that,” Jeremy said awkwardly. “We're glad to have you as part of the group, don't get me wrong, but there are a few things we'll have to do differently if we hope to get the edge on XANA this time around. Last time we brought a recruit to Lyoko prematurely, XANA seized the opportunity to take control of them, and that made fighting him a whole lot harder on Lyoko,” he said, carefully avoiding William’s gaze.

William raised his eyebrows. “You don't have to pretend, you know. Odd and Ulrich already told them all about how I was XANA’s prisoner.”

Jeremy flushed. “Oh — oh right. Well, in that case, you can understand why we don't want you all to go to Lyoko too soon.”

“But wasn't that the whole problem?” Ulrich said.

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“I mean, we kept William on ice instead of giving him real practice on Lyoko. So when he actually did get to go, he hadn't fully grasped the seriousness of the situation. You said it yourself, we can't do things the way we did before, so obviously we'll need to change this. Besides, think of how we first ended up on Lyoko, and we did fine. On top of that, we'll be right there with them.”

“Ulrich’s right, Einstein,” Odd said. “The whole point of recruiting was this, wasn't it? I say we bring them with us.”

“But —” Jeremy protested, feeling irritated; why were they so determined to challenge him today?

“If you're not going to trust Odd and Ulrich, at least trust _me_ , Jeremy,” Aelita said sweetly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I'll be there with them too.”

“Oh . . . oh all right,” Jeremy sighed. “But if we're going to do that, then I propose a mentor program.”

“A what?” Odd said blankly.

“Think about it: there are four recruits and four original Lyoko Warriors. If you're going to bring them with you, I'll be trusting that you'll be keeping them all under control, so it'd be better if we assign each of you a recruit that you'll be responsible for. What do you think about that?” he asked William, Leo, Mila, and Gabrielle.

“Fine by me,” Leo said. Gabrielle and Mila nodded, and William shrugged.

“Great . . . I know I've got a pen somewhere . . .” Jeremy rummaged around in his backpack for a moment, then extracted a notebook and a pen with a triumphant “Aha!” tore four small slips of paper from the book, scribbled something on each, crumpled them, and mixed them in his palm. Then he held his hand out towards Odd, Ulrich, Aelita, and Yumi. “Take your pick,” he said brightly.

Each of them seized a slip and unfurled it.

“Leo,” said Ulrich, reading from his.

“I've got Gabrielle,” Odd said cheerily, waving his own slip.

“William,” Yumi said, barely concealing the note of disappointment in her voice.

“So that means I get you, Mila,” Aelita said, smiling at the dark-haired girl.

“And there you have it,” Jeremy said. “Each of you is responsible for your recruit both on and off Lyoko. There's no point in waiting much longer; the faster we find out what XANA’s up to, the quicker we can shut it down. We'll explore the new Lyoko a couple days from now, providing XANA leaves us alone for that long. Each of you will be responsible for getting your recruits ready. I have a few things to work on until then, you guys can continue to get acquainted.” He stood up, surveying them sternly. “But the moment anything happens that shouldn't, we pull the plug. Okay?”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Ulrich and Odd said, saluting.

Yumi rose along with Jeremy. “Well, I should probably get home. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Good night.”

“Good night.”

She waved and swept out the door, Jeremy at her side. Once they had disappeared, Odd clamped his hand over his mouth, barely holding back a huge yawn, and said, “You know, those two’ve got the right idea. If we're going to go back to fighting XANA, we're going to need all the rest we can get, because we may not get much later on.” He seized his tray and stood up, and everyone rose too. Together they strode up to the dorms, still discussing Lyoko.

Eventually, however, they had to break off, as William bid them good night and slipped into his room, which was near the start of the long corridor, and Mila and Gabrielle returned to the upstairs girls’ rooms. Aelita, however, decided to check on Jeremy before she went up.

“Tell him night for us,” Ulrich said, waving. He closed the door behind him and sank onto his bed, and Odd onto his. At once, Odd’s dog, Kiwi, bounded out from under the chair near the front of the room and into Odd’s lap.

“Hey there, my little diggity dog,” said Odd, scratching him behind the ears. Kiwi yelped happily.

“Odd?” came Ulrich’s voice suddenly. Odd looked up; Ulrich was sitting bolt upright in bed, looking unusually serious.

“What's up?”

“It's just . . . all of this, again.”

“Yeah, I know,” Odd sighed. He leaned back on the bed and placed his hands behind his head, Kiwi snuggled across his chest. “But don't worry, it'll be okay.”

“Will it, though?” Ulrich said doubtfully. “It's not the first time we've tried to destroy XANA, and it's not the first time he's survived. What if we . . . what if we _can't_ destroy him? What if he keeps coming back? What if . . . what if he actually _wins_?”

“Uh uh, no way!” Odd said sharply, sitting up so suddenly that Kiwi toppled off him onto the other side of the bed with an indignant yelp. He glared at Ulrich, looking uncharacteristically stern. “I don't want to hear any talk like that, you got me?’

“But —”

“No buts!” Odd said firmly. “We can't let ourselves start thinking like that. XANA will never win, not unless there's nobody around to stop him anymore. And in case you hadn't noticed, we got four more of those today, Ulrich! So I don't want to hear any more of that nonsense, okay?” His eyes bored into Ulrich’s, and Ulrich looked back, shocked.

“Okay, okay!” he said hastily, waving his arms placatingly. Odd’s expression softened so suddenly that it was rather unnerving.

“Great,” he said, lying back down again. “And speaking of our new group members, how come you voted for William?”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing, just — I'd have thought _you_ of all people wouldn't really want him back, seeing with everything that happened with him before.”

“Hey, I know what it's like to be possessed by XANA,” Ulrich said, choosing to interpret Odd’s statement in regards to William being taken over by the AI, rather than his past interference with Ulrich and Yumi’s already complicated relationship. “Well, maybe not technically possessed, but XANA took control of my body once too, and used it to do all sorts of awful things, remember? He also took control of Aelita dozens of times, even Jeremy. I know how it feels being powerless while XANA toys around with you like some stupid character from Battle Of Ninja Five.

“I get how William feels. Maybe I forgot a few months ago, when everything was still fresh. But after all this time, I can see why he'd be dying to do something now. And I don't think we should take that chance from him.”

“Couldn't agree more!” Odd said, grinning broadly, while Kiwi ripped apart his pillow and spilled the stuffing all over the bed.

\---------------------------------------------------------

“Anything?”

“No, still nothing.”

Aelita sighed.

“Don't worry, Aelita,” Jeremy said bracingly, spinning around in his seat to face her. “We won't stop looking. If there's even a trace of Franz Hopper’s digital data out there, we'll find it. But for now, you should get off to bed. Can't have our first official day out of retirement be ruined by detention from GI-Jim, now, can we?”

Aelita smiled. “Yeah, you're right, I'll see you tomorrow, Jeremy. Good night.”

Jeremy waved until the door had closed behind her and she had vanished from sight, then turned back to the computer. He whiled away the hours, analyzing everything that he could see of the new Lyoko, even searching again with the Super Scan for any sign of a new Replika or activated tower. The thought occurred to him more than once that he should follow his own advice and retire to bed too, but he stayed where he was, his eyes glued to the screen.

No one really slept that night; not Yumi, who was curled beneath her sheets at home, dreading the following day, where she would be forced to accept that the travesty that was today had not all been an unpleasant dream, that all she had worked to put behind her had now come back full circle; not Odd and Ulrich, who, though they lay with their eyes shut in the silence, were nowhere close to drifting off, their minds full of past memories, and pondering what future horrors their fight against XANA would entail; nor Aelita, who lay in bed, wrapped tightly under her sheets, tears pouring down her face as she sobbed silently into her pillow, hounded by unrelenting visions of a great blue orb bursting into a million pieces, scattered into virtual nothingness. . . .

“You guys look awful,” Yumi said the following morning, finding the others again sitting on the benches in the courtyard underneath the trees. “Didn't sleep much?”

Odd, Aelita, Ulrich, and Jeremy all shook their heads, not even bothering to lie.

“Yeah, me neither. So what's the word?”

“Nothing, really,” Jeremy said. “But that still isn’t anything to celebrate. The activated tower only registered in the Super Scan when you and Aelita appeared on Lyoko Two. A new one could pop up there at any moment and we'd have no idea. But the problem is that we can't go back there just yet because we still don't know enough about the place to guarantee a safe journey.”

“So what do you plan to do, then?” Ulrich asked.

“Follow through with the original plan. We trust that XANA is too weak to do anything for the moment, then visit the new world after we catch the recruits up to speed. And speaking of —”

Everyone turned at Jeremy's gesture to see William, Leo, Gabrielle, and Mila crossing the courtyard towards them.

“Morning, guys,” William said heartily. “What are we talking about?”

“The new Lyoko copy,” Jeremy said. “We're trying to finalize a date to properly explore.”

“Huh? But why wait? XANA could be getting more powerful as we speak, even if it's only slowly. The faster we go, the faster we can get started on shutting down whatever he has planned, isn’t that right, Jeremy?”

“No, wrong,” Yumi said angrily, before Jeremy could speak. “And you said you'd do as we told you to, William, so cool it, huh? If Jeremy said to wait, then we wait, we have to prioritize safety over action!”

William opened his mouth to argue, changed his mind, and closed it again, looking dejected.

“Right, so as we were saying,” Jeremy continued, disregarding Yumi’s look of savage satisfaction. “We have to take into account the fact that we don't really know anything about this new world. XANA already had a great deal of control over the original Lyoko, I'd hate to see what he could do with full reign over his own territory. We'll have to be very careful with how we approach. For now, I think we should work on bringing you all up to speed. If you progress far enough in the next couple days, then we can consider going to explore.”

\---------------------------------------------------------

The next few days, contrary to what they had initially feared, went without incident. Jeremy, Aelita, Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich, grateful for the reprieve, used the time to press the recruits in training. They took shorter lunch breaks, and any free session that they had was used as well to engage in physical training, much like the exercises Jim had once put them through before a XANA-possessed boar had attacked them, and even a few Pencak Silat classes, coordinated by Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich. Aelita and Jeremy, on the other hand, used the rest of that time to run detailed compilations of notes on each of XANA’s monsters by the recruits; Mila was revolted when Jeremy had at last gotten to the Scyphozoa, an enormous, squid-like creature that had uses ranging from stealing and manipulating virtual data, to even possessing individuals.

William fought valiantly to keep his face impassive during this specific lesson, though he was burning with an inner shame, considering it was his underestimation of the creature that had caused him to lose so many months of his life to XANA in the first place.

Leo and Gabrielle did as instructed without any form of complaint, listening raptly to Jeremy and Aelita’s presentations and performing all physical exercises quite well without any indication of boredom or strain at all, which Odd was quick to comment on.

“How they can listen to Einstein drone on and on like that without falling asleep! We'd better watch out, no doubt XANA would love to have them with endurance levels like that.”

The days progressed in the same quiet, XANA-attack-free fashion, so that they remained quite unencumbered as they pressed forward. William clung on to Jeremy’s every word like a drowning man clutching at support, determined to redeem himself. He even ignored the subtle jibes that Odd, and especially Ulrich, slipped in sometimes during their martial arts training, which usually implied the same thing — that William’s performance on Lyoko had clearly been boosted by XANA, and that he would have been significantly less of a challenge without the new powers the AI had programmed for him — and simply worked harder. Leo and Gabrielle were in a similar vein, but their motivation was simply due to intrigue that the allure of Lyoko excited within them. Mila, however, was a different story. While she too listened attentively to everything Aelita and Jeremy reeled off from their notes, she was struggling with the physical aspect of the training, either refusing point-blank to fight in case she hurt someone or simply underperforming.

Ulrich sincerely hoped that this staunch refusal to cause harm to her friends would not extend to XANA’s monsters. They had so far not found the opportunity to slip in how painful most devirtualizations were.

Jeremy, meanwhile, was hard at work, still searching for any way that he could connect to the copy of Lyoko, which they had dubbed “Xanadu” (a name of a legendary city that, ironically, had nothing to do with XANA) in response to Odd and Ulrich’s complaints, without having someone on the spot to maintain the link.

Outside of the group, on the other hand, Sissi was watching this show suspiciously. She did, after all, know of the group's apparent bad blood with William, and of their lack of familiarity with Leo, Gabrielle, and Mila, so it was rather unsettling that, out of nowhere, they had begun to hang around together all the while nowadays.

Jim, too, could hardly fail to notice this. Though he, and everyone else outside of the group, had forgotten the events of the day the first return to the past in months had been launched, the manic glint of suspicion that had been present when he had caught Jeremy rushing to the boiler room had returned, burning whenever he caught sight of the group, that now seemed to have abruptly swelled in size. Now, where he might have passed them in the hallway with a mere nod, if even that, he looked askance at Leo, Gabrielle, Mila, and William whenever he saw them, his old suspicions resurfacing, now including these four new faces.

Jeremy, of course, noticed it as well, that Jim and Sissi seemed to turn up where they were all congregated more often than usual. He relayed this news to his friends, but with such a crucial period as the exploration of Xanadu approaching, they could not afford to split their already limited time together even further to douse any brewing skepticism.

The most they could do was simply try to avoid venturing to places where they were likely to show up, and strive to appear innocent whenever they were around, smiling and speaking in light, easy tones even as they discussed some of XANA’s more gruesome past attacks. Eventually, they had gone a total of five days without any sign from XANA, and Jeremy’s notice of the recruits’ obvious improvement and dedication to the group, coupled with his mounting impatience at not knowing what XANA was up to, caused him to finally speak aloud the words that they had all been waiting to hear at lunchtime on the sixth day after XANA’s resurgence.

Seating himself at their table, he stared down at his tray in silence for a moment as they watched him on tenterhooks, then, once he had achieved the desired dramatic effect, he raised his eyes to them, a smirk upon his lips. “It's time.”

“Really?” Odd said excitedly.

Jeremy nodded. “Hmm mmh. Tomorrow evening — exploration.”


	7. Chapter 7

It was finally here. The day that Leo had been waiting for, the day when, at last, they would venture off to Lyoko for the first time. He rose with an already large bubble of excitement swelling in his chest; they had been training hard under the scrutinizing gazes of the original Lyoko Warriors for nearly a week, and finally the results had paid off. Jeremy, who seemed to Leo to have taken on the role of group leader, had declared only the previous day that it was finally time, meaning that they had undoubtedly impressed him, or he was less patient than he had made it seem in regards to his ignorance of XANA’s actions. Leo chose to believe the former.

He joined the line extending outside the boy's bathrooms, where he met William, who was leaning against a wall and looking preoccupied. Sure enough, when Leo approached him, he had to call his name three times, each done with increasing volume, before William jerked out of his reverie and looked up at him.

“You okay?” Leo asked.

“Yeah, fine,” William said. “Just thinking. . . .”

“About this evening?”

William nodded. “It'd be my first official trip back to Lyoko since . . . since . . .” He hung his head, his voice trailing away feebly.

“Can you remember anything at all?” Leo asked him, watching him closely.

“Bits and pieces. Most of what I _can_ remember is fuzzy. But I can still feel his — XANA’s — like, _presence_. I don't know how to describe it, but I can feel that something’s not right with me. I could since the moment I got back. Like I'm . . . tainted,” he finished in a whisper.

Leo clapped him on the back. “Come on, you're not tainted,” he said bracingly. “You went through a terrible experience and you're not fully over it, that's all. Perfectly understandable. But I'm sure you'll feel much better after today; nothing helps to clear your head like cracking monster's skulls.”

“How would you know? You've never been to Lyoko,” William said, smirking.

“I have a vivid imagination. Plus, Odd introduced me to Battle Of Ninja Five a few nights ago. . . .”

The line slowly dwindled as they stood there, talking more enthusiastically as the conversation progressed, with the result that William looked marginally more cheerful by the time they reached inside, and looked perfectly at ease when at last they reached the lunchroom and sat down at the table with the others.

“Ah, now everybody's here,” Jeremy said, pleased. “Listen, we're planning to start at 4:00 sharp. That way, if the exploration even takes longer than we'd intended, Yumi can get back home in time and we can be back here for dinner. So try to be there by then, okay?”

“Gotcha,” said William. They finished their meal after a light, pleasant discussion in which they speculated what they might find on Xanadu, and then set off for their classes, where Leo and William’s mounting excitement took a sudden and dramatic dive as they entered their first lesson. The day had never moved this slowly before. It was as though the clocks had been adjusted to move at half speed. William, Yumi, and Leo had to sit through several tedious hours of History, Italian, Biology, and Math before the final bell for the day rang and they were released at last. It took them some time before they managed to reach the boiler room passage, because quite a few students were lingering in the corridors.

At last, however, the throng cleared away, and they snuck into the boiler room and set off down the sewer tunnels, where the skateboards they had added for themselves the night before were already waiting for them. Several of them were missing, which meant that the others had likely reached the tunnel long before they did.

And sure enough, when they set foot inside the lab room twenty minutes later, it was to find Ulrich, Odd, Aelita, Mila, Gabrielle, and Jeremy already waiting for them. It was 3:59 by Leo's watch.

“Not a minute too soon,” Jeremy said briskly, checking his own, and he leaned over the supercomputer keyboard and began typing away. “Hurry down to the Scanner Room.”

\-----------------------------------------------------

“Transfer, Ulrich! . . . Transfer, Odd! . . . Transfer, Aelita! . . . Scanner, Ulrich! . . . Scanner, Odd! . . . Scanner, Aelita! . . . Virtualization!”

Jeremy’s voice rang out, loud and clear, through the Scanner Room as he launched the process. With the familiar blasts of wind and flashes of light, Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd found themselves hovering in midair in the Arena of Sector Five. Their virtual forms solidified completely, then all three fell into the ring, donning the outfits that Jeremy had programmed for them months before.

“We're here, Jeremy,” Ulrich called. “Standing by to welcome the others.”

“I read you, Ulrich. Here they come.”

“Uh — do these things, you know — hurt?” Mila asked, watching apprehensively as the scanner doors opened again.

“No,” Jeremy said. “Well, not particularly.”

“That's encouraging,” she said sarcastically.

“Hey, don't worry, Mila,” Yumi said, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling at her. “We'll go before you if you want.” And she stepped into a cabin, while Leo and William (though with some trepidation) occupied the other two.

The doors closed again, leaving Mila and Gabrielle in near total darkness, and Jeremy’s voice boomed out again.

“Transfer, William! . . . Transfer, Yumi! . . . Transfer, Leo! . . . Scanner, and virtualization!”

The sensation was quite strange, though not necessarily unpleasant, Leo thought. With a sudden surge of white light, their digital profiles loaded onscreen, and a moment later, all three had landed in the Arena as well.

Ulrich, Odd, Yumi, and Aelita were all staring at William. He was no longer wearing the dark garments that XANA had made specially for him, bearing the AI’s crest across his chest, but his original snowy-white suit and dark trousers, with his enormous, gleaming silver sword, free of the taint of XANA. He surveyed himself, remembering his very first day in this same uniform.

Leo, however, was decked out in what seemed to be a kind of Greek armour. A bronze cuirass was strung across his chest, with matching bracers along his arms and knees, over a white tunic. His brown hair was now done in tight, elaborate curls, and a long, bronze cylinder was clutched in his right hand. He examined it closely. The cylinder was quite heavy, but did not seem to have any spikes or jagged edges. “Well, what am I supposed to do with this?” he said irritabily. “Club the monsters to death?”

Behind them, Mila and Gabrielle materialized and landed. Mila was now dressed in a lilac suit, with a short white skirt over knee-length heels, and her dark hair was drawn into a long ponytail. She looked rather like one of the cheerleaders at Kadic, but there was a black whip coiled at her hip, which she now took to examining; it lashed out to its full length, burning bright gold. “Wow,” she said delightedly. “I'm definitely keeping this.”

Gabrielle, on the other hand, was now dressed in a shimmering blue costume that looked not unlike it was made of fish scales. Her brown hair fell around her head, beaded with what looked like tiny sea shells and pearls, and what looked like oyster shells were positioned at her sides. She now seized these, performing the same examination of what were obviously supposed to be her weapons as Leo and Gabrielle, and opened them. She dropped them with a screech of shock. The moment the shells had been prised open, the large pearls inside had blazed with a bright, blue-green light, and two long sword points had erupted from within, made entirely of that strange, bluish-green energy.

“Wow, not bad,” Odd said, as Gabrielle stooped down, grasped the shells, and closed them, so that the energy blades faded.

“If you're all done,” Jeremy said, sounding slightly irritated, “please remember that we have some data to collect.”

“Right, let's go then,” Ulrich said. They hurried off through the footbridge that opened behind them and through a long passageway, then down a wide, sweeping staircase. Everything around them seemed to be made of the same sapphire tiles. At last they came to the end of the passage, emerging into a cavernous room with a high ceiling.

William looked around eagerly. “Okay, now where's the key?”

“There is none, William,” Aelita said.

“Hmm? But last time —”

“We got rid of that function when we recreated Lyoko, after — after —”

“After I destroyed it,” William finished quietly, his head bowed. Aelita strode over and placed a hand tenderly on his shoulder.

“Don't worry, William, all that is behind you now. This is the second chance you wanted, right? So don't waste it dwelling on the past.”

William raised his eyes to her face, then straightened up. “You're right,” he said firmly. “Let's go.”

They sprinted the length of the huge room, then came up to the elevator, which brought them up to the platform at the Celestial Dome. The Overbike, Overwing, and Overboard were already waiting for them, positioned at the front and each side of the platform respectively, with the access point still burning fiercely ahead of them. Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi darted off for their vehicles, but as Odd touched the Overboard, he noticed something.

“Uh, hey, Jeremy,” he called. “We've got a problem here, we're going to need another —” But he broke off quite abruptly. Something else was appearing at the front of the platform, beside the Overbike. It was flat like the Overboard, but a bright scarlet inlaid with black, and shaped like a rose, with a single, green, thorn-like stalk extending from the front, and rocket thrusters underneath.

“Jeremy, what — what is this?” Aelita said, bemused.

“Do you like it?” Jeremy asked. “I'd started working on it last year, just before we'd defeated XANA. I thought it was about time you got one, but then everything ended before I could finish. I started working on it again over the past few days, thought it would come in handy. I call it the Overrose.”

“I — I love it,” Aelita breathed, gazing at the new vehicle in awe.

Jeremy smirked rather smugly, grateful that Aelita could not see his face right now.

“Nice one, Einstein!” Odd said.

"About time, too," Ulrich said.

“Well, get on,” Yumi said happily, gesturing Aelita forward. Aelita dashed onto the Overrose and grasped the stalk-like handle. The manipulation was much easier than with the Overwing; the Overrose turned at her slightest touch.

“Well?” she said, turning to Mila, and smiling. Mila leapt up behind her, securing her grip on Aelita’s waist.

Leo jumped onto the Overbike behind Ulrich, Gabrielle sidled up behind Odd, and William joined Yumi atop the Overwing.

“Now get going,” Jeremy said. “But be careful, guys. I'm still not sure what could happen if any of you get devirtualized on Xanadu. We might have to end up sifting for rematerialization codes all over again, and I'd really rather not have to go through that hassle another time.”

“Don't worry, Jeremy, ‘careful’ is my middle name,” said Odd, and he sped off so suddenly towards the access that Gabrielle nearly toppled off the Overboard and into the void of Sector Five.

“Yeah right,” Ulrich snorted, and he, Yumi, and Aelita surged forward as well.

“The last time, Yumi and I came out of the other side in what looked like a volcanic region,” Aelita called to her peers.

“Sweet!” Odd yelled, and they all soared into the deep tunnel. For nearly a whole minute all they could see was the pulsing walls of the entrance, but then the opening swam into view, and they flew out.

“Uh — huh?” Odd said, bewildered.

“But, what's going on?” Aelita said.

They had not, as she had thought they would, emerged into Xanadu’s Volcano Sector, but what appeared to be an immense stretch of caves, much like the ones they had often sailed through in Lyoko’s other sectors, but much larger and seemingly carved out of some kind of crystal.

“Jeremy, do you see this?” Aelita asked.

“Yes, Aelita. It seems that the access randomizes entry into Xanadu with each trip. Probably a ploy by XANA to make things harder for us to respond whenever he activates a tower. Speaking of which, the last time he did that, we didn't get notified until you entered Xanadu’s atmosphere. Try connecting me to a Way Tower, so we can link the Super Scan program to Xanadu and pick them up unsupported from now on.”

“Roger, can you guide us?”

“I'm looking now. . . .”

“I thought you said there'd be monsters here?” William said, looking around.

“It's the same as last time, completely empty,” Aelita told him.

“Maybe XANA’s sleeping,” Odd suggested. “Be rude of us to barge into his new home unannounced and wake him up, don't you think? Maybe we should have brought him a virtual housewarming gift.”

“Get real, Odd,” Ulrich said, rolling his eyes, though he smiled nonetheless.

“Ulrich’s right,” Jeremy called. “This wouldn't be the first time XANA’s pulled something like this on us. Stay on your guard, and that Way Tower is due 45° southeast.”

“Here we go!” Odd said. The four vehicles wheeled around in midair and took off in the direction of the tower, their riders’ hair whipping around in a virtual breeze as they burst through the air. The Way Tower loomed into view shortly afterwards, and at last they pulled to a halt. Aelita leapt from her new vehicle at once and vanished into the tower.

“All right, Aelita,” Jeremy’s voice said. “I'm going to activate the tower, and then you can launch the program.”

“Standing by, Jeremy.”

Outside, the others waited in silence, the recruits still observing their weapons, Yumi gazing around at the beautiful crystalline structure, Odd absently tossing a crystal shard into the air and catching it, and Ulrich leaning against the Overbike. Still, everything remained eerily quiet.

Aelita returned to them minutes later, bringing the news that the program had been successfully implemented. At Jeremy’s orders, they soared into the Way Tower and changed territories, emerging this time into an immense swamp. Thick-trunked trees spread out for miles and miles around, sinking and rising between enormous pools of murky brown water, with great tangles of weed hanging like thick, mossy curtains from the treetops.

“Say what you will about XANA, but you have to admit he's one heck of an architect,” Odd said, looking around admiringly.

“Aelita, there's a neutral tower to the west, I want you to send me as much data as you can from it. With a little luck, we might be able to see where XANA’s operating from, depending on the data that we recover.”

“We're on our way, Jeremy.”

They swooped again, picking their way through the vast, rather eerie-looking swamp. They landed before the tower, but just as Aelita made to disembark, a loud roaring noise suddenly rang out somewhere in the distance.

“What was that?” Gabrielle demanded.

“Jeremy?” Ulrich said uncertainly.

“Um, it looks like XANA’s finally woken up, you guys. But . . . I don't understand . . . I have no idea what it is . . ."

“Must be some kind of new mons —”

A tremendous, bestial bellow rent the air; the very ground seemed to quake with it. Then a hand pierced through a curtain of weeds hanging before them — a hand the size of a car tyre — ripped the plants aside, and something huge emerged from behind it.

It was nearly twenty feet tall, with shining, golden skin, coated with black, metallic plating, like a kind of armour. Silver-lined bracers covered its massive arms, and in its hands was an enormous, kite-shaped, shield-like object with two protruding handles. It had only one eye, a vivid, almost startling red, perfectly spherical and around the size of a football. It was like a metallic ogre, and that lone, fierce eyeball was glaring right at Ulrich.

“Ugh! What is _that_?” Mila cried, horrified.

“Jeremy, it's some kind of giant!” Aelita said shrilly.

“Like a mini-Kolossus, but just as ugly!” Odd added helpfully.

“There's another one to your right!” Jeremy yelled.

They turned as one, and sure enough, a second giant was walking towards them, though it seemed quite smaller than the first. It was wearing long, dark-blue robes, and had mottled, pale-white skin, with a ludicrous silver headpiece perched on top of its head; a thick veil fell from around the headpiece, covering its face, but two eyes glowed green through the fabric. In its hands was an enormous, spiky mace, and its face was turned to Yumi.

“And over there!” Gabrielle shrieked. A third had crawled out of the woods on their left, around the same size as the other two, but more lizard-like than either of them. It had an enormous, reptilian tail, green, scaly skin, and three-inch talons, with a head like a dragon's.

“Jeremy!” Ulrich called, his voice quivering, as he drew his katanas. “There's something weird about these things, they look almost humano —”

“ _Things_?” the last monster that had emerged said in a raspy voice of mock-hurt. “Why, Ulrich! How very rude of you! Don't you know monsters are people too?”

Everyone stared, thunderstruck; the designs of the monsters were one thing, but they could _speak_ as well?

“Wow, XANA must have gotten a few updates since he went on vacation. We've never met a monster that could talk before!” Odd said, in a stunned voice.

“You've never met _anything_ like us before!” the gold-skinned cyclops said in a deep, booming, echoing voice.

“Guys, listen: I don't know what those things are, but I don't think today's the day to find out. We still have no idea what’ll happen if you're devirtualized on the new world. Forget about them for now and get back to Lyoko!” Jeremy ordered.

“We got the picture, Einstein!” Odd affirmed, and he leapt into the air, landing on the Overboard with a graceful spin. “Come on, guys!”

“I don't think so!” the blue-robed monster roared suddenly. This one spoke in a raspy, metallic voice as well, but it sounded distinctly female. It raised its hand just as Ulrich made to jump onto the Overbike and shot a blast of red energy, which hit him full on and stopped him dead in the air.

“Huh? What's going on?” he yelled, horrified.

“Ulrich!” Odd kicked off on the Overboard, wheeling towards his frozen friend. But the lizard-like giant suddenly burst into a run towards them.

“ _Shadow Scale_!” it screeched. Its mouth opened wide, and a stream of dark gas, rather like William’s old Super Smoke ability, burst from its mouth; the gas exploded into dark wisps, which solidified at once into jagged black scales, scattering like pellets across the battlefield.

“Shield!” Odd cried valiantly, as the others dove for cover, and his great violet barrier appeared, deflecting several of the scales, but it didn't last. The impact smashed the shield and the remaining projectiles knocked Odd off the Overboard, sending him flying backwards into the murky water.

“Odd, you just lost fifty life points!” Jeremy said, sounding terrified. “Ulrich, eighty!” For Ulrich, trapped in midair, had taken several hits full force.

The single upside to this was that the impact had mercifully unfrozen Ulrich, and now he stood up, furious, and seized his swords from the floor. Yumi charged out front, her fans drawn and glowing in her hands.

“You okay, Odd?” Ulrich called.

“Yeah, I'm cool,” he said, emerging from below the surface of the water. “Man, I got a bang out of —”

With a noise like an explosion, a plume of jade-green gas erupted from the water, and Odd vanished into it with a piercing scream.

“Odd!” Yumi and Ulrich cried in unison.

“Oh, no, Jeremy —” Aelita shrieked.

“He — he's been devirtualized!” Jeremy said, horrified. “I — I can't believe it!”

Ulrich stood for a moment, staring, horrorstruck, at the rippling pool of water where Odd had disappeared. Then a fury such as he had never known broke over him, flushing all thought from his mind, replacing it with a surge of white-hot anger.

“ _Super Sprint_!” he roared, and he hurtled off towards the armoured giant, a blur of gold across an expanse of dark green. He kicked off from the ground so hard that a dent appeared upon the swamp floor as he jumped, and he flung one of his swords, aiming straight for the monster's eye. The blade streaked through the air, burning with a bright blue energy. But the monster suddenly seized both of his weapon’s handles and pulled, so that it split neatly down the middle, and he was left standing with two massive silver blades. With speed quite disproportionate to its size, it spun around and cleaved through the air, striking at the descending katana, which shattered under the force, then the second blade whirled out towards Ulrich, pelting straight at him as he fell towards the ground, unable to dodge in midair —

Yumi’s fans flew out of nowhere; the first knocked the giant's blade off course, so that it buried itself in one of the trees to Ulrich’s right; the second hit the monster directly in its massive chest. With a grunt of pain, it was forced backwards a few feet, but the monster did not topple. As Yumi’s fans veered back towards her, another jet of red light came soaring through the air and hit both, so that they froze instantly, quite out of reach.

“No!” Yumi cried, but the blue-robed monster was already swooping down upon her. The spiked mace came cleaving through the air, ready to strike her — but another glint of silver shone through the gloom as William launched himself forward, intercepting the strike with his massive sword. He jumped, spinning in midair using a technique he had learned from Ulrich in Pencak Silat classes, and planted his feet in the monster's chest. But he had as much success as Yumi’s fans on the gold-skinned ogre. She did not even stagger; she let out a wicked howl of laughter and her hand flew to his foot. Grabbing him tightly, she flung him into the air, prying his sword from his hands as he zoomed upwards. The monster swung first outwards, and the blade ripped through Yumi’s chest, so that she exploded in a storm of digital strips that faded away as the giant turned her attention back to William and launched the blade at him. He vanished with a scream.

“Yumi! William!” Mila screamed, but the lizard-like giant now came slithering towards her. Gabrielle seized her scallop shells and dashed forward, her arms working furiously as she hacked and stabbed with her blades of shimmering bluish-green energy, but every strike missed. The creature bent backwards as she swung downwards, aiming for his head, and his tail launched upwards, from between his legs, embedding itself in her chest. As her virtual form disappeared, he seized her falling scallop and flung it, still open, at Mila, who was too late to draw her whip. The blade sank into her chest before she could even pull the whip from her hip, and she too vanished.

The lizard creature turned its attention upon Aelita, who looked both shocked and defiant. Her hand flew upwards and a ball of crackling, pink energy blossomed from her hands. " _Energy field_!" The ball burst from her hand and shot towards him, but another jet of red light collided with it, stopping it in midair. The lizard giant's tail whipped out, curled around Aelita's leg, and pulled her off her feet, launching her in front of her own attack. The scarlet aura faded from around the orb and it unfroze, streaking through the air. Aelita was struck point-blank by her own attack, disappearing from the field.

Now, only Ulrich and Leo remained. Ulrich was grappling with the cyclops, barely dodging its great swipes, even with his enhanced speed. But just as the monster came bearing down upon him again, lightning — an actual bolt of lightning, star-bright and golden — ripped through the air and struck it, coursing along its massive body, incapacitating him like nothing else had. It was Leo, who had been beating his metal cylinder against his palm, desperately trying to make it work as he ran from the other two giants. He stared, looking both shocked and impressed, and the other giants stared too. Ulrich seized his chance to thrust one more sword at the cyclops, and as it staggered away, Ulrich darted off, his movement boosted by his virtual speed. He grabbed Leo just as the blue-robed monster's mace swung down again, narrowly avoiding the strike, flung him onto the Overbike, seated himself before him and seized the handle, then soared away, back towards the Way Tower.

As they flew off in the direction they had come, they heard the monstrous voices of the creatures ringing behind them, howling with derisive laughter.

“Jeremy . . . is — are they —”

“It's okay, Ulrich,” said Jeremy, who sounded hugely relieved. “The materialization took much longer than normal, but they're here, all of them. Pull over and I'll rematerialize you.”

“Roger that, Jeremy,” Ulrich said. As they flew out of the tunnel, emerging once again in the expanse of caves that they had first appeared in, Ulrich skidded to a halt, and moments later, both were rematerialized.

The scanner doors opened again, and both Ulrich and Leo stepped out, panting, to see the others leaning against the walls or sprawled on the floor, looking as shocked and defeated as both Ulrich and Leo felt.

"Well that was a bust," William said after a moment. "What _were_ those things?"

"No idea," said Odd. "But we've got a real problem. Let's hear what Einstein thinks."

\------------------------------------------

"What I think? What I think is that XANA is as devious and as crafty as ever. No doubt he led us on throughout this week, not attacking so that we would lower our guard, think he was too weak to do anything, while really he was there creating whatever those things were, just so he could spring them on us at the very last moment."

"It was terrifying," Aelita said. "How they fought, their weapons and powers, how they _talked_ —"

"I might have a theory," Jeremy said. "I think, after possessing William for so long, XANA realized just how much more effective a sentient, humanoid figure is than simple monsters. I think that after studying the four of you fighting against his forces on Lyoko for so long, he was able to implement everything he learned into his own creations, combining both the strengths of his own monsters and the strengths he saw in our group. And something else too. The designs you described to me, and their powers, it's too much of a coincidence. From what I've heard, it sounds as though these three monsters were created specifically to oppose Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi."

"That would make sense. That female monster had a power that nullified movement. If what you're saying is true, it sounds like that was designed to negate Yumi's telekinesis," Aelita said.

"Well _now_ what are we going to do then?" Yumi said. "We all saw that fiasco just now, how are we supposed to fight against XANA with them rolling around on Lyoko?"

"Come on, Yumi," Odd said airily. "XANA's summoned all sorts of super-powerful monsters before, and we took them all down. Even the Kolossus. We'll get them too."

"Odd's right," Jeremy said. "For now, we'll just have to keep working."

"Oh, don't tell me —" Ulrich groaned.

"That's right!" Jeremy said cheerfully. "More training!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was the first official fight scene for the series. Truthfully, I don't think it was done all that well, but that was likely because it had to be a bit rushed. Future scenes will be done better.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here with three chapters today. Unfortunately, I'm having a bit of a problem with individual chapters. We all know that the story has to focus simultaneously on what happens in the real world *and* on Lyoko as well, which means the chapters usually have to turn out longer that I'm comfortable writing. For example, these three chapters that I'm posting today are roughly over 17,000 words, and usually I'll do less than 10. 
> 
> I have several other stories dealing with at the moment, and daily responsibilities, so you can understand why devoting so much time to CL is a bit of a problem. However, I'm working on it.

“The XANA Warriors?”

“No.”

“Hmm. . . . How about, the Swamp Giants?”

“Too plain. Besides, I doubt we'll only see them in the Swamp. Anything else?”

“Hmm . . .” said Odd again, frowning, with his hands laced on the table. He, Yumi, Ulrich, Aelita, William, Gabrielle, Mila, and Leo were sitting in the cafeteria, trying to determine an appropriate name for XANA’s three newest monsters. He had spent the better part of the last fifteen minutes suggesting different titles he had been contemplating over the past two days, but so far not a single one had been to his friends’ liking.

“Has anybody seen Jeremy?” Yumi asked suddenly, putting the conversation on pause.

“He's up in his room, I think,” Aelita told her, taking a sip of her tea. “Doing some programming.”

“Do you know what he's working on?” Gabrielle asked.

“No idea,” Aelita said, shrugging.

“Well, why don't you ask me?” said a voice. They all looked up to see Jeremy, who was standing clutching his own tray and beaming down at them, his laptop tucked under his arm.

“Jeremy!”

“Scoot over and make me some room, guys,” Jeremy said cheerfully. They adjusted their chairs and he sat down, still smiling widely.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” William said, surveying him with his eyebrows raised.

“He's right, something happened,” Yumi chimed in. “Come on, spill.”

“It's nothing, really — well, not _nothing_. I finally managed to localize Xanadu on the web!”

“Really?” Yumi said eagerly.

Jeremy nodded. “Unfortunately, that doesn't mean I can virtualize you directly onto the new world just yet, there's still a few codes I need to obtain before I can, but I think I've got a faint idea of where the supercomputer projecting Xanadu might be situated.”

“ _What_?” the entire group chorused, simultaneously shocked and amazed.

“Does that mean you'll be able to send us there soon so we can destroy it?” Ulrich asked.

“No, no, I'm nowhere near that far along,” Jeremy told them, though he was still smiling. “I told you, I only have a vague idea of where the supercomputer might be, which could be just about anywhere in any one of three possible countries around the world.”

“But — that's no use to us now, so why are you smiling?”

“Because it means we're making progress,” Jeremy said. “And speaking of progress, there's some things I need to sort out on Lyoko. A few new programs I'm working on, but I need a portion of the work to be done in a tower on Lyoko. Aelita, can you make it for lunchtime today?”

“Sure, but what are these new programs?”

“I'll tell you on the way. Anybody else?”

“Do we all have to?” Mila asked.

“Hmm . . . no, not necessarily. As we'll just need someone to keep watch outside the tower, I think two of you should be enough. That is, unless XANA’s latest inventions show up, in which case we might need all hands on deck.”

“I'll go,” Leo said eagerly. “It’ll be a lot easier now that I know what the lightning bolt actually _does_.”

“Me too,” Ulrich said, grinning. “Be fun for a little mentor-student workout, don't you think?”

“Okay, so we'll all meet at the factory after —”

“I got it!” Odd exclaimed. “ _Harbingers_. The Harbingers of XANA!"

“Wow, I really like that name,” Yumi said. “Only, let's just keep it at Harbingers, okay?”

There was a murmur of assent around the table.

“Um, does anybody want to tell me _what_ he's talking about?” Jeremy said blankly.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

At lunchtime they separated, Odd, Yumi, William, Mila, and Gabrielle to the lunchroom, and Ulrich, Leo, Jeremy, and Aelita to the factory. They moved as quickly as they could, taking the secret passage in the woods, as Jim was heard to have been patrolling the corridors inside. When they had arrived, Jeremy assumed his seat in the Lab and Aelita, Ulrich, and Leo travelled down to the Scanner Room. Once there, each of them took up a position in one of the scanners, awaiting Jeremy’s voice.

“Okay, get ready now,” he called at last. “I'm sending you to the Mountain Sector. The new programs I'm implementing will help to improve your general performance on Lyoko, we'll be needing that especially with XANA’s latest creations, and another should help me try to get a more specific result on the whereabouts of the supercomputer hosting Xanadu. Hang on — Transfer, Ulrich! Transfer, Leo! Transfer, Aelita! Scanner, Ulrich! Scanner, Leo! Scanner, Aelita! Virtualization!”

With the familiar blinding surges of light, the trio found themselves hovering in midair in the Mountain Sector, a vast region filled with enormous, light purple rocks, which floated, unsupported, in midair. A light layer of mist drifted across the landscape, obscuring the mountains further below and above, and the silhouettes of yet more mountains loomed beyond their range of sight.

“The Overbike and the Overrose are on the way,” Jeremy’s voice announced, and a moment later the two vehicles appeared, the flat, rose-shaped platform with a protruding, thorn-like stalk, and the jet-black, single-wheeled motorbike. Ulrich and Aelita assumed their places at the vehicles’ helms. Then Ulrich turned to Leo.

“Saddle up, cowboy.”

Leo dashed onto the Overbike behind him, gripping the back of the seat firmly and positioning his lightning bolt carefully between his legs so that it didn't go off.

“The tower that I've selected is 51° north of your current position,” Jeremy said.

The two vehicles took to the air, gliding smoothly above the narrow, violet trail. They crossed the large gap between the platforms where they had landed and the one hosting the tower, and came to a halt just outside the pillar, which was almost completely enveloped by a mouth of rock sprouting from the ground around it. Ulrich recognized it as the very one they had once used to decode Franz Hopper’s diary.

Aelita too felt the painful stab of familiarity, but shook it off and hurried towards the tower, vanishing inside.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ah, mashed potatoes, nature's gift to the world,” Odd sighed, gazing dreamily down at the mass of potatoes spread across his tray. He sat upright, his tongue sticking out of his mouth, and thrust his spoon into it.

William chuckled. “Take it easy, Odd, or you'll choke,” he said, watching Odd force spoonful after spoonful into his mouth with barely a second's pause between each load.

“Don't worry, William, it's not my first rodeo with the potat-eos!” Odd said proudly. “I can do this all d —” He broke off, retching and choking. Gabrielle thumped him on the back and he slumped forward onto the table, gasping and spluttering, having managed to swallow at last.

"Thanks, Gabrielle!” he gasped, massaging his throat.

A gale of laughter erupted from the table. Everyone except Mila was howling. She frowned at Odd and said, “Ah look, your clothes are all messy now. Come on, let's get you cleaned up.”

“I'll come too, make sure he doesn't somehow drown under the pipes,” Gabrielle said, chuckling.

As the three of them left, Yumi stopped laughing, having realized that she and William had been left alone. The smile faded from her face, and she threw a sidelong glance at the blue-haired youth, who was carefully avoiding her gaze, tucking into his meal again and pretending not to notice her looking at him.

There was a little silence. Then Yumi took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

“Hmm? For what?” William asked, feigning surprise.

“You know what. Back in the Swamp. We didn't know whether or not we'd be able to return from Xanadu if we got devirtualized, but you jumped in to save me anyway. Risked your life. So, thank you.”

“If you really wanna thank me,” William said coldly, “you'll stop trying to undermine me in the group.”

“What?” Yumi said, taken aback.

“You heard me. You've been doing it ever since the others accepted me back into the group. I know I messed up in the past, and I'm trying to make up for it. But you won't give me the chance! You think I'm still the same arrogant hothead —”

“It's not like you've given me any reason to believe otherwise!” Yumi said, anger flaring up now.

“So give me a chance then! Let me prove it to you! You saw what XANA did the other day for yourself, clearly he doesn't need me anymore, what with all the new freaks he managed to create. So why not give me the chance? You're supposed to be my mentor — you're supposed to be my _friend_.”

Yumi stared at him, guilt bubbling up inside her. Before she could respond, however, Odd, Mila, and Gabrielle returned, and William turned away, laughing with them, as if nothing had happened since they'd left.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ulrich, can you hear me? Ulrich!”

Ulrich, who had just been showing his twin katanas off to an intrigued Leo, looked up as if he might spot Jeremy’s face looming above them. “Huh? What's going on, Jeremy? Is something wrong?”

“I just picked up something on the screens, a sort of disturbance taking place a bit farther east of your position. When I checked it out, I saw that there was a tower nearby, and it's been activated. But something’s wrong. The tower — isn't red.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Leo asked.

“That's the problem, I have no idea. Towers that have been activated under XANA’s influence only show up with a red halo. This tower . . . it's _purple_.”

“Purple?” Ulrich repeated, bewildered. “Are you sure?”

“That's what it looks like,” said Jeremy.

“Well, can you get anything else on the tower?” Leo asked.

“No, but it seems that XANA’s spotted it too. A squadron of monsters is headed in its direction, and the last time that happened —”

“Okay, we'll check it out,” Ulrich told him. “But what about Aelita? Should we wait for her?”

“No, she'll have to stay where she is until the programs are finished installing. You get to the tower, she'll meet you after she's done.”

“Any chance of backup, is there?” Ulrich asked as he and Leo mounted the Overbike once more.

“I'll alert the others, for now, you just concentrate on getting to the tower.”

“Got it. Better hold on, back there,” he added to Leo.

“Woah!”

Ulrich revved the bike and sent it streaking off down the path, its single wheel ripping across the landscape. The end of the platform was speeding towards them, drawing nearer with every second, and as they reached it, Ulrich revved again, so that the rocket thruster blazed to life as the Overbike let out a roar, boosting their jump. The Overbike shifted to flight mode in midair, so that their dive turned into a smooth takeoff flight and they went whizzing through the mist towards the tower.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I'm telling you, if it wasn't for that swamp gas, that Harbinger would've gone down — _hard_.”

“Right, ‘cause you were doing so well _before_ the gas, weren't you?”

“Believe me when I tell you this, William: a lot of new monsters have gotten the drop on us, but once they lose the element of surprise, they're no match for Odd the Magnificent,” Odd said smoothly. Mila, Gabrielle, and William laughed again, but Yumi, preoccupied, did not respond. She was too busy wondering what was going on with the others on Lyoko, barely hearing what was happening beside her as the group strode down the halls outside the building.

Almost as though in reply to her unspoken question, her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, displaying Jeremy’s caller ID. She pressed answer at once.

“Hello, Jeremy?”

“Yumi, we've got trouble on Lyoko, need you at the factory ASAP,” Jeremy said urgently.

“What's going on, are Ulrich, Leo, and Aelita —?” But her question was drowned by a sudden outbreak of blaring on the other end, as though of alarm bells. “Jeremy, was that the Super Scan?”

“Yes, I can't believe our luck!” Jeremy cried. “Hurry, now we have _two_ activated towers to deal with —”

“Two?”

“Yes, one of them has just been activated by XANA, no doubt in response to whatever else is happening on Lyoko. But the other seems to have been activated by a second, unknown entity. Ulrich and Leo have already gone on ahead, they'll be needing backup, and Aelita is going to need help getting to the second tower too.”

“Okay, we're on our way.” Yumi turned to her peers, who had all been listening raptly. “Trouble on Lyoko,” Yumi said. “They need us at the factory now.”

“Uh, I don't think that's going to be an option,” said Mila in a tremulous voice.

“Why?” Odd asked.

“Look!” She pointed to the sky, and as they followed the line of her finger, they saw a massive plume of dark purple smoke billowing into the sky, which was turning a murky black. Menacing-looking storm clouds suddenly blossomed across what, only seconds before, had been a clear dome of forget-me-not-blue.

“ _XANA_ ,” Odd breathed. Without warning, nets of lightning began to crack across the cloud-laden sky, and a heavy downpour picked up, carrying what seemed to be a gale-force breeze along with it. The lightning lashed out at the building, blasting the stone apart, sending chunks of debris flying like shrapnel; it struck trees and set them on fire, but the flames were extinguished almost at once by the dreadful showers. Kids were screaming, trying to get inside the classroom as the water level on the ground began to rise at an alarming rate. One group was struggling to keep hold of one particularly thin youth, whom the wind seemed quite determined to carry away.

“Get inside!” Yumi shouted.

They barely heard her over the sound of crashing thunder, howling wind, and pounding rain, but as she was pointing in the direction of the cafeteria, they got the point at once and began to forge through the sudden, raging weather. Sticking close together, they managed to force through the cafeteria door and slam it shut behind them, bringing Mila inside just before the rising tide outside swept her away.

The other students inside were, like them, shivering and drenched to the skin, looking horrified by the sudden storm.

“Well now what?” Yumi cried.

“Guess they'll have to do without us on Lyoko, in this weather we'll have a higher chance of being blown across town before we manage to get to the factory,” Odd said in a hopeless voice.

“I'll tell Jeremy,” Yumi said miserably.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I don't _believe_ this!” Jeremy exclaimed, throwing up his hands. Even from where he sat in the Lab Room, he could hear the rain lashing against the walls of the factory, the thunder booming menacingly overhead.

“What's going on, Jeremy?” Ulrich demanded.

“I just found out what XANA’s attack is: he sent a specter into the air and summoned a massive thunderstorm. Yumi, Odd, William, Mila, and Gabrielle are trapped at school, fighting not to be washed away. You two are on your own with the purple tower.”

“Wow, isn't that a surprise?”

Ulrich squinted into the distance. The tower came into view, ringed, as Jeremy had said, with a violet halo, glowing through the fog.

“Look!” Leo said suddenly, pointing. Ulrich looked down. From where they sat upon the Overbike, cruising through the air, they could see a large dome of crackling, bright-green energy upon an isolated platform hovering near the tower. It was like the bubble that XANA had once lured Aelita into, under the guise of an invitation from her father: a Ghost Channel, Jeremy had called it. But something was different about this one. He could see shadows of small squares similar to the ones that made up the walls of Sector Five streaming around inside.

“Jeremy, we just found the disturbance,” he said. “It looks like that thing XANA trapped Aelita inside, when he messaged her to make it look like Franz Hopper had called her to Lyoko.”

“I know, I just got back the results of a scan I launched a few minutes ago — it looks like some kind of data stream,” Jeremy said.

“What does that mean?” asked Leo.

“It means that whoever has activated the tower is trying to upload a steady flow of raw data, but created an encrypted channel to keep something — and I think I have a good idea what — from getting access to it. I should be able to crack the encryption code and tap into it, just give me a few minutes. Careful!” he cried suddenly. “XANA’s airforce incoming!”

“Roger that, Jeremy,” Ulrich said. He swooped, veering towards the data stream. At the same moment, a loud buzzing sound reached their ears, and they looked around in time to see a large swarm of hornets, around twelve in total, burst from the mist and come soaring towards them. Ulrich spoke over his shoulder to Leo. “Ready to test it out?”

Leo nodded, smirking, and raised the lightning bolt, which crackled with electricity. Lasers flew through the air. Ulrich manoeuvred the Overbike around them, dipping in and out of the clouds, winding his way through the descending volley. He changed direction abruptly, soaring upwards, and Leo let out a yell of panic as they rose. But the hornets were temporarily distracted. Ulrich sped up past them and flipped over in midair, then yelled, “Now!”

Electricity burst into life along the bronze cylinder in Leo’s hands and streaked through the air. The blast ripped through their ranks and struck one of the hornets, sending it flying backwards as golden currents danced along its figure. Then it exploded, showering the area with digital bits.

“Yeah!” Ulrich yelled approvingly, but the swarm had recovered. Four of them broke away from the hive, soaring towards the dome, and the remaining seven were rising out of the fog to meet them. Ulrich put on a burst of speed and dove, hurtling towards a large cave entrance visible around fifty feet below.

They zoomed into it, coursing along the length of the tunnel, and the hornets’ buzzing echoed through the passage as they streamed in behind them. They burst out onto the other side and Ulrich drew back, hovering stationary to the right of the opening. As the hornets emerged, Leo fired again, exploding yet another.

“Nice going, guys, but there's still too many of them, and the others have started attacking the dome!” Jeremy said urgently.

Ulrich pulled a saber from the digital scabbard upon his back, intercepting the laser that was flying towards him. Leo sent out another burst of lightning, causing the swarm to scatter once more, but again he managed to pick off a slower-moving hornet.

“Don't worry about us, Jeremy, we're working on it. But how's it going with the key?” Ulrich asked.

“Still nothing yet, but I'm getting closer. Just hold them off for a little while longer.”

“You got it, boss.” Ulrich took off again, and this time he sped straight towards the oncoming hive.

“What are you doing?” Leo shouted, looking at his mentor as though he'd gone mad. But Ulrich only smirked and said, “You hold the controls for a moment.”

“”But what are you going to —”

“ _Super Sprint_!” Ulrich launched himself off the Overbike, a tail of golden light streaming behind him. With the reflexes born of his Pencak Silat training, Leo dove forward and seized the vehicle's handles. He managed to keep the bike moving, watching as Ulrich spun through the air, his gleaming katanas whipping around him like the blades of a fan as his speed propelled him forward. He hurtled into the swarm, the revolving blades blocking the lasers pelting at him, and he rocketed through, slicing through two more of the hornets as he passed.

They exploded just as Leo zoomed beneath what remained of the hive, streaking ahead of Ulrich, who was now coming in to land. Leo drew back, positioning himself directly underneath his falling comrade, and Ulrich fell neatly back in his seat, grinning.

“Not bad, huh?”

“You're right, not bad, _crazy_ is more like it. You could have given me a little more warning, you know.”

“Ah well —”

For the first time, a laser crashed into Ulrich’s back. The impact made him stagger, causing the Overbike to spiral. He pulled up firmly and the descending vehicle righted itself in the air.

“No time for small talk,” Jeremy said gravely. “You've gotta get back to the data stream — the Scyphozoa just showed up.”

“Wow, XANA’s pulled out all the stops, hasn't he?” Ulrich pulled the Overbike to an abrupt halt and wheeled around, sending the vehicle speeding once more through the ranks of the hornets and back to the tower. As they passed, Ulrich heaved one of his sabers from the scabbard and cleaved one hornet in half, and Leo smashed his lightning bolt into another, sending it flying out of the way; it crashed into the wall of a nearby mountain and burst apart.

“Yeah!” Ulrich and Leo high-fived, then they soared back into the cave they had darted through a while back. The sight that met them on the other side sent a virtual chill down Leo’s back. He had heard much about the Scyphozoa before, but the words did not provide a vivid enough image to prepare him for the altogether more repulsive vision his eyes had fixed on now.

It had a massive, bulb-like head, attached to a dark purple cone-shaped receptacle, from which protruded several short, scuttling, leg-like limbs and long, transparent tentacles, which were coiled around the data stream, siphoning its energy.

“Eurgh, I forgot how ugly that thing was,” Ulrich said in disgust. “Ready to crack it open?” he said to Leo.

But before Leo could respond, Jeremy positively shouted, “Are you crazy? If it misses, the lightning strike could destroy the bubble completely! You'll have to get it from close-up.”

“Ugh, do we have to?” Leo said.

“Now!” Jeremy ordered.

Ulrich sighed. “Okay, here we go!” The Overbike zoomed downwards, heading straight for the Scyphozoa’s gigantic, see-through form. As they moved, the four hornets that had broken away from the group now emerged on all sides. The first advanced boldly towards them, but Ulrich took a swift, clean swipe with his saber and deflected its laser strike, sending it right back towards the monster, which broke apart like so many before it.

Leo missed his first strike upon the other two, but Ulrich brought them closer to the pair and cleaved off the wings of the first, slicing the second in half so that it disappeared as its flightless ally sank into the clouds and out of sight. The last one rained fire down upon them, but Leo retaliated with another jet of lightning, and this time his aim was true.

“Great work, you two, now get to the Scyphozoa, it's just about ready to destroy the data stream!” Jeremy told them.

“We're on it, Einstein!” Ulrich said, and with the coast clear he dove yet again. “Take my saber!” he called over his shoulder. Leo grasped one of the protruding handles and pulled the shining blade into his hands. They descended until they were near enough to see the sign of XANA imprinted against its metallic body, but still it remained wrapped around the dome, siphoning the energy like an over-sized parasite.

“Now!” Ulrich said.

At his words, Leo swung down, preparing to cleave through the monster's tendrils —

But the hornet they had left behind had caught up with them. A laser streaked through the mist above and knocked Leo off the Overbike, and he began to fall, straight towards the Digital Sea.

“No!” Ulrich changed direction again, threw himself flat against the Overbike, and sped down towards Leo, the rocket thrusters blazing full-force behind him. But he was too far — Leo was screaming, the Digital Sea flying up behind him — he was going to fall before Ulrich caught up with him —

“ _Energy Field_!”

Ulrich looked up in spite of himself, distracted by the new voice, and saw an orb of pink energy shooting across the sky. It struck Leo, coating him in rippling pink energy, and devirtualized him just before he was swallowed up by the sea.

“Oh, perfect timing, Princess!” Ulrich said, relieved, as he saw Aelita flying towards him on the Overrose.

“No problem,” she said, smiling. Then her face suddenly darkened. “Ulrich!” she screamed, pointing behind him.

Ulrich looked around to see thick jets of a steaming, viscous, mossy-green fluid falling through the air behind him. The hornet was bearing down upon him again, blasting sheets of poison. He maneuvered around them, in the same way he had dodged mines dropped by Flying Mantas in the past. But he was too slow; as he wove around a descending burst, yet another jet of poison caught him directly on the back. He could feel the corrosive poison melting through his virtual form.

As the Overbike spun out of control, he leapt off, grasped one of his sabers, and flung, just before he was devirtualized. The blade spun sideways in midair, rippling like a windmill, and soared straight towards the Scyphozoa. It ripped through the monster's tentacles, severing its parasitic hold on the data stream at last.

“ _Energy Field_!” Aelita shouted again. Another orb of pink energy flew through the air and collided with the final hornet, vaporizing it, while the second flew at the Scyphozoa, which had recoiled with a screech as it was disentangled from the dome; the energy coursed along its massive form, but as it faded away so it too rose and disappeared from sight.

“Nice one, Aelita!” Jeremy shouted triumphantly. “I broke the code, I'm downloading the data right now. You can head for the tower.”

“Got it, on my way, Jeremy,” Aelita said, and she sped off into the pearly mist.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It's getting really bad out there, are those guys going to deactivate the tower or not?” demanded Odd, who was peering through the cafeteria windows out at the raging tide outside, which had risen almost to the height of the door.

“Patience, Odd, you know full well how difficult it can get on Lyoko,” Yumi chastised. “Besides, don't you think it's strange?”

“Think what's strange?” Mila asked.

“Knowing XANA, normally he would have tried to summon a tornado to blow away the whole school with us in it. But here we are, perfectly okay —”

“Speak for yourself, I'm soaked to my bones over here!”

“— so it seems to me that XANA’s priority wasn't really to attack us, per se,” Yumi continued, ignoring Odd, “but more like, detain us.”

“But why?” Gabrielle asked.

Yumi shrugged. “All I know is, something big must be happening on Lyoko, otherwise we would have been sailing across the country on a storm cloud right now.” There was a pause during which everyone continued to squint out at the dark sky. Then Yumi said abruptly, “William, can I talk to you?”

“Huh?” William said, with genuine surprise this time. “Oh, yeah, sure.”

He followed her over to the corner of the room, away from the other students, who were crowded around Rosa, the lunchlady, who was handing out cups of hot tea. William waited with a curious expression on his face, then Yumi turned to him and said, “You're right. I've been being pretty hard on you since all this came back up again, but you have to understand, when you were under XANA’s control . . . You were like a monster on Lyoko,” she said bluntly. “The things you did, if you could remember. . . . It was awful.”

“And is that all there is to it?” William said.

Yumi frowned. “What do you mean?”

“When I was under XANA’s control, is that all you were thinking of, how dangerous I was?”

“No! Of course not! I was worried about _you_. I've never been possessed by XANA, so I can only imagine what you were going through, being forced to do all that. . . . But if you think that's all we were thinking about, then you're wrong. We wanted to bring you home, not just because you were dangerous, but because you —” Yumi took a deep breath — “because you're our friend. And it's time I stopped treating you like the enemy.”

William smiled, and so did Yumi. Simultaneously they walked forward and hugged.

“Hey, Romeo! Juliet!” Odd called.

Yumi and William broke apart, looking over at the group. Odd was waving his cell phone triumphantly in the air and smiling widely. “Any moment now!”

“You mean they —” Yumi began, relieved.

“Yep. Get ready for a return trip!”

They waited, watching the rain settle outside. Then a piercing white light appeared in the distance, drawing towards them, swallowing the schoolyard. The last thing Yumi saw before the light passed over them was William’s easy smile, the one she had so loved when they had first met. . . .

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Half an hour later, Aelita had deactivated the tower, a return to the past had been launched to cover up the damage done at Kadic, and the Lyoko Warriors were once again inside the Lab, watching Jeremy work in silence.

After a few minutes in which he had typed and clicked to his heart's content, he sat back in his chair with his hands upon the arms, and Ulrich thought it safe to speak at last. “Anything good?”

“The data analysis program is running now,” Jeremy said. “It should be done by tomorrow, but I can't imagine that whatever — or whoever — created that data stream would have gone to all that trouble to send us anything like a weather report, now, would they?”

“I guess you're right. But do you have any idea who could have sent it, Jeremy?”

“Well,” Jeremy said, shifting uncomfortably in the chair, “the only possibility is — is —”

“My father,” Aelita said.

“Yeah. But on top of — you know — everything else that went down with him in the past, I also don't think it could have been him because the towers he operated with in the past always had _white_ halos.”

“So could there be someone else joining the fight against XANA?” William asked.

“I don't know,” Jeremy said. “And I don't think we will know until tomorrow morning, so we might as well get back for lunch.”

“Mashed potatoes twice in one day,” Odd said dreamily as they all swarmed towards the elevator door. “One of the few benefits of a XANA attack.”

“I agree,” William said, as he pressed the up button, “but just make sure you don't choke this time.”

Odd scowled as the lift door closed, the others roaring with laughter around him.


	9. Chapter 9

Jeremy awoke very early the next morning. So early, in fact, that it was still quite dark. A blurry, sideways glance at his alarm clock showed him that it was 3:43, and he could hear a light drizzle sweeping through Kadic beyond his window. It would have been an excellent time to sleep, but instead of rolling back over in bed, he stood up, seized his glasses, and plopped himself down in front of his desktop.

He powered it on, and was pleased to see that the data analysis program was, as he had expected, complete; he had reestablished the desktop’s connection with the supercomputer several days prior. The files he had downloaded from the mysterious data stream the day before had been decoded, and he now opened them with a rush of eagerness. He knew he ought to wait for his friends to see it too, especially if it really _was_ something to do with Franz Hopper, in which case Aelita especially should have been with him, but he was too excited to wait. . . . But as it transpired, it was not from Franz Hopper, nor did the information seem to be related to him at all.

It was a digital journal, whose cover displayed the words _Project New Olympus_.

“New Olympus?” Jeremy muttered. He clicked the window and entered the diary. The first page hosted a picture of what looked like an old-fashioned military facility, but it seemed to be _underwater_. Above this picture was the caption “Thalassa Base.”

“What the —?” Jeremy breathed. He began to scroll through the pages, looking in at various segments of the base. Scientists clad in snowy-white lab coats and thick goggles were depicted in many of these images, conducting what seemed to be experiments on other human beings and animals.

Jeremy, eyes wide with horror, paused to gape on a page with what seemed to be a young child, about Milly and Tamiya’s age, who was strapped to a bed underneath a bright strobing light, clearly shrieking in agony. The next slide showed the same scene, except that the child was now gone. Jeremy sat there, aghast, wanting desperately to rise from his chair, to delete whatever vile message this was and turn off the computer. But he couldn't. It was as though some unseen force was holding him down, forcing him to remain in place. Horrific though the images may be, he had to see it through to the end. To find out why on earth this message had been sent, or why XANA would feel threatened enough by these scenes to want to destroy it.

On he went, the slides displaying more and more repulsive images, but the final slide bore what seemed to be an unfinished computer program, and a set of coordinates.

Jeremy hurtled out of his chair and seized his schoolbag, extracting his laptop. As he flung himself back into his chair, he opened his laptop and immediately entered the coordinates that had appeared on the desktop screen. The results that popped up displayed what appeared to be an ordinary river, nestled comfortably in a lush forest. But if Jeremy was correct in his suspicions, the Thalassa Base was somewhere beneath that pool of glittering water.

His attention turned instead to the unfinished program. His eyes sped along the length of the template, widening with every line they took in. This program bore unmistakable similarities to that which he had developed months ago to teleport Odd, Yumi, Ulrich, and Aelita from the Skid into spectral forms in various parts of the world to locate XANA’s infected supercomputers. Some codes, however, were completely new to him. In a sudden rush of decisiveness, he powered off his desktop, folded his laptop, tucked it under his arm, and slipped carefully out of his room and down the silent corridors.

Jeremy hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should wake any of the others. In the end, it was Jeremy deciding that it was too early, and that it was far too risky with them strewn so far along the block, that made him decide to move on and leave them to rest.

He raced down the path, moving as quickly but as quietly as he could, pausing around every corner to listen for Jim. His deep, gruff voice came into hearing soon enough, berating someone for not sleeping somewhere along a nearby corridor.

The coast clear, Jeremy hurried down the corridor to the boiler room, eased inside, and pelted off down the wide sewer tunnels. Minutes later, out of breath, he exited the elevator and propped himself down in his chair in the lab room, the lift doors closing behind him. He took a few moments to catch his breath, then started up the supercomputer, set his laptop gingerly across his knees, and pulled up the program that he had designed months prior, comparing it to the new one he had obtained from the data stream. It was indeed similar, much more so than he had realized.

However, the new lines of code seemed to be taking into account a view of a more permanent virtualization, rather than the temporary spectral existence Jeremy had programmed. Curious, he opened a new window, and began to enter lines from both.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the alarm clock blared 6:00, Aelita leaned over, tapped the off button, and sat up in bed. She had not slept much, being so excited at the prospect of discovering who the mysterious being that had created the data stream was. Though she was confined to the fact that it may not be her father, the possibility fluttered around in her mind like a restless butterfly. Now she positively bounded out of bed and rushed towards the girls’ bathroom. The faster she showered, the faster she could visit Jeremy and find out what the data stream had really held.

On the way, she met Mila and Gabrielle.

“Good morning,” Mila said, smiling.

“Hi.” Aelita beamed in return.

Gabrielle looked around, then lowered her voice. “Jeremy should have finished with the program by now. What do you think we'll find?”

‘I don't really know,” Aelita said. “But I'm sure Jeremy’ll be able to tell us. . . .”

But as it transpired, Jeremy was not in his room when they went to check after they had finished washing. Nor was he at the breakfast table with the other boys and Yumi.

“Morning,” Aelita said. “Has anybody seen Jeremy?”

“No, haven't seen him since morning. Not even in the showers,” Ulrich said. “We checked his room too, but he wasn't there either.”

“I wonder where he could be,” Aelita said. As the minutes passed, she found herself craning her neck every time the door swung open, or every time she heard footsteps pattering behind them. But still the blond, bespectacled figure of Jeremy did not appear. Sissi, however, showed up nearly twenty minutes into lunch, flanked, as usual, by Nicolas and Herb.

“Hi,” she said sweetly. “Jeremy isn't here with you?”

“No,” said Yumi. “Have you seen him?”

“Not since last night, no. Oh well, I'm sure he'll turn up eventually. I'd ask if we can sit here but your table looks a little full, doesn't it?” she added, still in that same sugary tone, her eyes passing from William, to Mila, to Gabrielle, and, finally, resting on Leo.

“Um . . . yeah, sorry about that,” Aelita said, smiling apologetically.

“No worries, we'll just sit over here!” She waved and, still beaming, led Nicolas and Herb to the empty table two spaces ahead of them.

“That was strange,” William said, frowning.

“I'll say,” Odd said.

“Are you all _sure_ you're really cool with her?” William looked around nervously and hissed, “I mean, I remember her being pretty suspicious in the past. What if she finds out that something’s up?”

“If anything _does_ happen it's nothing a return to the past can't fix,” Ulrich muttered. “And speaking of return trips, I think I know where Jeremy might have gone.”

“You don't think —?” Leo began, raising his eyebrows at Ulrich.

Ulrich nodded. “He must be at the factory. Come on, we've still got a few minutes of breakfast time left. Let's go check it out.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As their group was now so large, they had to split up and take different routes to the factory so as not to raise suspicion. Yumi, William, Aelita, and Ulrich headed for the passage in the woods, while Odd, Leo, Gabrielle, and Mila ran through the boiler room. The two groups met up underneath the manhole cover, seized their skateboards and scooters, and rode the length of the tunnel. Then they climbed up to the bridge, and swung down to the elevator.

As Ulrich had guessed, Jeremy was in the lab. He looked around, bleary-eyed and bewildered-looking, as the lift door opened and the rest of his friends spilled into the room.

“Morning, Einstein,” Ulrich said. “You do know this is why beds were invented, don't you?”

“Oh — hey, guys. I didn't realize it was so — so late,” Jeremy said, letting out a huge yawn.

“Jeremy, how long have you been here?” Aelita asked severely. He looked around at the computer screen, found the time nestled in the bottom-right corner, which read 7:33, then wheeled back to face them.

“Just a few hours,” he said innocently, but she continued to frown at him.

“You missed breakfast, you know,” Odd said.

“That's fine, I didn't have much of an appetite anyway.” The appalling images he had seen when he had woken up were still fresh in his mind.

“But why were you even here so early?” Mila asked.

“Take a look,” he said, and he gestured at the screen. They all moved closer, peering at the open windows.

“A new program?” asked Yumi.

“Eh?” Jeremy turned to face the computer again, and saw that the new source code he was trying to create was still prominent on the screen. “Uh, no — not this,” he said. He began to type impatiently, then the image of the virtual diary he had downloaded from the data stream flitted to the forefront of the screen.

“What is this?” William said, revolted, as Jeremy began to navigate through its contents, displaying image after image of the horrific-looking experiments that had taken place in the Thalassa Base.

“A digital journal, which contains records of what looks like virtualization test trials in a secret, underwater facility called the Thalassa Base.”

“Test trials? Done by who?” Leo asked.

“ _Whom_ ,” Jeremy corrected. “And that's what I've been trying to find out. Unfortunately, there aren't any names provided for any of the scientists in the records, and, as you may have guessed, the subjects aren't around anymore either. But along with this journal, I got the coordinates of the base, and an incomplete program that's similar to the one that I used to use to materialize you as specters in the real world from the Skid.”

“Your virtual ship that got destroyed?” Gabrielle asked.

Jeremy nodded. “But this one is different. It looks like its original aim was to foster a kind of — permanent virtualization.”

“And what does that mean?” Aelita said. “We’d be stuck on Lyoko forever?”

“No, not exactly. Remember how XANA managed to send those Krabs and Kankrelats to earth? They arrived with all their virtual abilities, but with their forms compressed to the dimensions of our world. This program’s aim was something like that. Transferring you from Lyoko to the real world in the image of your virtual forms, but as material beings rather than specters.”

“But why would the Thalassa Base be experimenting with trials like that?” Ulrich asked, looking startled.

“Your guess is as good as mine. But I think the answer lies in the Thalassa Base itself. Which is why I imagine whoever set up the data stream sent the coordinates as well as the dematerialization program.”

“You think they want us to go there?” Odd asked.

Jeremy nodded. “Which is what I've been doing here. I've been using segments of code from both this program and the one I'd already set up, to try to create a new one with the capability of materializing one _without_ the need for the Skid, and _with_ the possibility of being able to revert to your normal selves.”

“Any luck so far?” William asked.

“Actually, yes. The program seems to be coming along well enough. But I'm not going to test it until I'm absolutely sure that it's safe. The last time we tried to send someone somewhere with a faulty program . . .” Jeremy broke off, shuddering.

“Are you finished?” Aelita cut in abruptly.

“Well, yeah, I suppose, for now —”

“Then let's go,” she said firmly, and she seized his arm and heaved him from his chair, dragging him towards the elevator door.

“Aelita!” Jeremy protested.

“You've been working for hours, Jeremy. You haven't eaten and you look terrible. You can finish your work later — I'll help you with it if you'd like — but for now, you have to get cleaned up and get to class.”

“But —”

“Now, Jeremy,” Aelita said, in a very final sort of tone.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later, Aelita, Odd, Mila, Gabrielle, and Ulrich were sitting by the swimming pool in Gym Class, watching Jim demonstrate the movements they were to practice for that lesson. Yumi had gone off to Science Class with Mrs. Hertz, and William and Leo had snuck into the cafeteria and seized a few snacks for Jeremy, who had gone up to take a shower in the dorms under cover of being ill in the infirmary.

They slipped into his room down the hall and passed him the snacks, which he ate gratefully. Apparently he had much more of an appetite than he had led on.

“Should I be worried about how you got these?” he asked them, with a suspicious glint in his eyes beneath his spectacles.

William and Leo grinned at each other.

“Nope,” said Leo. “I think we covered our tracks pretty well.”

“So, about the Thalassa Base,” William said, as Jeremy finished a bag of dry cereal. “You said they were doing virtualization test trials?”

“That's what it looked like, yes,” Jeremy said.

“But why would they have done that, unless there was somewhere they could be virtualized * _to_ *? You don't thimk they could have known about — about Lyoko?”

Jeremy crumpled up the empty cereal bag and dropped it in his garbage bin. “I don't know,” he said. “There weren't any dates in the slides, so we can't know how recently they'd taken place. But I don't see how it _could_ have happened before Lyoko had been created. For one thing, whoever uploaded the data stream knew enough about Lyoko to activate a tower there.”

“Well, that's true,” Leo said. “But do you think that's all that person wanted to show us? The virtualization records in the Thalassa Base?”

“Again, I can't be sure, but I feel like there's more to the story. More that we can only find out at the Thalassa Base itself.”

“And what about XANA?” said William.

“What about him?”

“If it knew enough about the data stream to want to destroy it, do you think its next target could be the base itself, to stop us from going there?”

“I doubt it, to be honest. XANA’s latest methods of attack give the impression that he's still nowhere near the level of power he had even when we'd just turned on the supercomputer. A few monster jack-o-lanterns and a thunderstorm? Believe me, XANA’s capable of much, much worse. I don't think he has enough power, at the moment, to launch a full-scale attack on a military base underwater.” He worked his way through a bag of nut brittle and a cherry soda, then stood up and stretched.

“Feel better?” Leo asked.

“Yeah, much better, thanks!” Jeremy said brightly. “I think we should get to class —” But at that precise moment, his laptop began to blare on the bed where he'd left it to shower. “Huh? No, not now!” he cried, rushing over to it. As he flipped it open, his heart sank horribly. The Super Scan had picked up an activated tower.

Jeremy grit his teeth, closing the laptop so that the noise died down. “We have to get to the factory,” he said. “How are we going to tell the others?”

“Leave it to me,” Leo said. “You two go on, we'll meet you there.”

“Be careful,” Jeremy told him, and he hurried off with William. Leo bolted through the hallways in the opposite direction, coming out on the other side of the school. He darted along the block leading to the Science Lab; Yumi would be much easier to extricate than any of the others, who were all stuck at the pool with Jim. He ran the length of the corridor, squinting anxiously around for teachers, but to his relief he saw none.

He reached the classroom unhampered; hoisting himself up on the ledge, he spotted Yumi, then angled his hand so that the sunlight would glance off the face of his watch and attract her attention. She had been doodling absently in her notebook, but as the faint glare hit her eye she sat up and looked around at the window.

Leo waved vigorously, doing his best to transfer the message via hand signals. He didn't think he was doing a very good job, but Yumi got the point regardless.

“Ma'am, may I please go to the restroom?”

“Have you finished copying the notes from the board?” asked Mrs. Hertz.

“Erm —”

“Well in that case, the answer is no, Ms. Ishiyama,” she said sternly. “You may go when you've done so.”

Yumi gave Leo a furtive, hopeless gesture and he slid back down to the ground, cursing Mrs. Hertz. Yumi would have to catch up as soon as she could, he thought, and he rushed instead towards the pool.

Inside, he saw Aelita, Mila, Gabrielle, Ulrich, and Odd sitting side-by-side at the pool edge. Jim was watching two other students doing some complicated movements in the water. While his back was turned, Leo seized the opportunity to wave at Odd, who was nearest to the door. Sissi, however, was the one who caught the movement. She leaned forward and muttered something to Odd, who looked up, then nudged Ulrich in turn. The message spread quickly and silently, and they all turned towards him.

Leo didn't know how on earth they were all going to escape the hard, suspicious gaze of the Physical Education teacher, but if there _was_ a clever way to do so on their own, he didn't find out. He heard a funny crackling noise behind him, and as he turned around to investigate he saw, to his horror, three plumes of dark smoke streaming around the schoolyard outside.

One of them plunged headlong into the ground, seeping into the earth; another soared into the air, dispersing rapidly across the bright blue sky; the third veered straight for him, bowled him over, and soared into the room, drawing the attention of everybody else inside. There were screams and a great scrambling to escape as it dove into the pool with a loud splash. Leo rolled to one side as Jim and the other students dashed past him, but there were even louder screams coming from outside now. Leo stood up and peered outside. A gigantic mass of bubbling, steaming mud was advancing upon Leo, beside it a swirling mass of greyish smoke, like a living storm cloud. In the center of each figure, Leo could see XANA’s specters swirling around like fog trapped in a glass sphere.

Aelita and the others met him at the door, hurrying away from the third creature, which looked quite similar to the other two, but water-based.

“We have to get to the factory!” Aelita said urgently.

“Oh yeah, and how do you suppose we do that with these three wanting to play with us?” Odd said.

“You guys go on, William and Jeremy are already there, I'll deal with them!” Leo said.

“No, don't be stupid, you'll never manage on your own!” Ulrich said. “Go on, Odd, you guys get to Lyoko, I'll stay here with Leo!”

The air creature suddenly came gliding towards them, and from its spiraling chest burst a bolt of lightning. They all dove aside, but the impact still blasted them away. Fortunately, they recovered quickly enough.

“Go!” Leo screamed, leaping up. Ulrich ran up towards him as the others vanished from sight.

“Okay, how do you wanna play this?”

“Two on three, I guess —”

The mud creature launched a thick jet of steaming mud, cutting him off mid-sentence. Before he could react, someone tackled him from behind, pushing him and Ulrich out of the way.

A moment later, Ulrich, sounding relieved, shouted, "Yumi!"

“Need a hand?” she said, grinning, as they all got to their feet.

“Okay, one for each of us then,” Leo said. “Yumi, you take the mud one; Ulrich, you get the water one —”

“Uh uh, no way. Any other one, but not that one," he said at once, shaking his head.

“Hey, is this because of what happened at the swimming pool?” Yumi said, staring at Ulrich with an expression of mingled suspicion and exasperation.

“Why? What happened at the pool?” Leo asked blankly.

“Nothing,” they both said quickly, blushing. 

“Fine,” said Leo, “ _I'll_ take the water monster. We'll lead them away from the other students so that nobody else gets hurt, then we'll meet up when we're done. Ready?”

“Ready!” Yumi said, and they all scattered.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aelita, Odd, Mila, and Gabrielle reached the factory within twenty minutes, all out of breath. Leaning against the elevator walls and clutching their chests as they drew deep gulps of air, they looked up when the door opened.

“Ah, at last,” Jeremy said, peering around the computer screen at them. “Hmm? The others —”

“Are trapped at school,” Odd panted. “Fighting a couple of XANA’s monsters — elementals.”

“We have to deactivate the tower, fast,” Aelita said.

“Right, head down to the Scanner Room, all of you.” Jeremy swiveled around in his chair, preparing the virtualization process as they all climbed into the room below using the bars to their right. When they had called up to say that they were in position, Jeremy started. “Here we go. Transfer, Odd! Transfer, Aelita! Transfer, William! Scanner, Odd! Scanner, Aelita! Scanner, William! Virtualization!”

When their digital avatars had loaded, and their labeled dots appeared on the screen, the scanners reopened as Jeremy prepared for the second virtualization. “Transfer, Mila! Transfer, Gabrielle! Scanner, Mila! Scanner, Gabrielle! Virtualization!”

The two materalized in midair, above the Arena of Sector Five, then landed beside the other three.

“I'm bringing up your vehicles at the Celestial Dome,” Jeremy told them. “Hurry up!”

“Let's go!” Odd said cheerfully, and the party sprinted off through the open footbridge in front of them. Together they ran the length of the Core Zone and took the elevator up to the Celestial Dome, where the vehicles were indeed waiting for them. Aelita and Mila veered immediately for the Overrose, and Odd and Gabrielle launched themselves upon the Overboard. William, however, hesitated, looking nervously at the stationary Overwing.

“Something wrong, William?” Jeremy called, noticing that he had not moved.

“Um — no, nothing,” he mumbled, and he dashed onto the Overwing, leaning his sword across the floor of the vehicle.

“Here we go!” Odd cried. They streaked off towards the glowing access to Xanadu, dove into the tunnel, and sped through, bracing themselves for what came next.

“AGH!”

The sudden scream reverberated inside Jeremy’s head, and he sat bolt upright in his seat, terror flooding through him. “Odd? Odd, what just happened? Aelita, are you all okay?”

There was no response.

“Odd, Aelita!” Jeremy said, more insistently. “Are you there? William? Mila? Gabrielle? Answer me, please!”

“Jeremy,” Aelita’s voice replied, and Jeremy felt a powerful wave of relief surge through him, “it's all right, we're all okay. But, you'd never believe where we are. We — we're _underwater_.”

“What?” Jeremy yelped. “What do you mean?”

“The fourth core sector of Xanadu seems to be some kind of — virtual marine setting. Here, I'll send you a visual.”

A new window suddenly sprang open on the screen, and he saw the miraculous scenery through Aelita’s bright green eyes. They certainly were gliding through a vast pool of water, looking around at an underwater environment, illuminated by a bright blue light and encased in a large, glittering, bubble-like dome. There were tangles of dark weeds, reefs of coral-like structures, vast channels of mud, and many strange-looking plants with glowing leaves. Bubbles the size of megatanks were rising up all around from the velvety-black depths of the sector, floating right up to the top.

“Incredible,” Jeremy said, awed. “You were right, Odd — XANA _is_ an incredible designer, whatever else we might think of him. But — uh — are any of you having trouble breathing?”

“No, we were scared at first, but then we realized we could breathe just fine,” Aelita said.

“Good thing, too,” Jeremy said, his tone suddenly grim. “Because I've spotted the activated tower. It's straight ahead of you, and it's being guarded.”

Aelita, William, and Odd all came to a halt, and everyone squinted through the brightly lit water at the tower in the distance. Three mantas were hovering around its base — and each one was being ridden by a Harbinger.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leo had had plenty of practice running before. From Gabrielle, when they were younger playing tag; in Gym Class for his old school; and for physical training with the rest of the Lyoko Warriors. He had never had much trouble with it before, but he had to admit that there was something quite different when being chased by a massive, roaring wave in a vaguely humanoid form that could shoot hose-like jets of water.

He had darted around the other side of the school, rushing through the courtyard, and the aquatic creature had followed, like an obedient dog accompanying its master — if the dog was twelve-feet-tall. It let out a rushing sound, the sound of waves crashing against the shore, and from the inwards-swirling spiral that was the specter holding its form together burst a jet of water. Leo dove aside, narrowly avoiding the speeding sheet. As he rolled, he glanced up. The water crashed against the walls of the Gymnasium, and huge cracks spread along the stone under the immense pressure.

Leo sprang to his feet, seized a large stone lying at his feet, and flung it at the monster; it sank harmlessly into the gurgling pool of its body. He had not expected the stone to do any form of damage, but he hated the overwhelming feeling of helplessness, running away from the beast with nothing he could do to fight back.

A huge crash sounded somewhere nearby and Leo, momentarily distracted, looked around. Ulrich was pelting around the other side of the courtyard, having just appeared from the opposite direction, the storm creature in hot pursuit, shooting bolts of lightning much like the ones Leo produced on Lyoko after him. One bolt struck the vending machine, causing it to explode, spilling snacks and various beverages all over the ground. And Leo had an idea.

“Ulrich, head this way!” he shouted. He saw the other boy look over at him, clearly bewildered, but Ulrich changed direction nevertheless. Leo rushed off towards him.

They ran on opposite sides of the path, weaving around blasts of lightning and water, drawing closer with every second, until they were mere feet away from each other. Ulrich caught on remarkably fast, mirroring Leo, leading the monsters closer and closer into direct proximity —

“Now!” Leo shouted. Directly in front of each other, they both leapt sideways. Lightning erupted from the spiraling specter of the air creature, and water from the water creature. The two blasts shot through the air, passing within inches of each other. The lightning ripped through the water creature with a noise like an explosion, sending small splotches of water crashing down around them, and leaving a giant scorch mark above the steaming ground; at the same time, the hyper-pressured water blew through the air creature, dispersing it to tiny wisps of silvery-grey smoke.

Ulrich and Leo sprang up, simultaneously relieved and impressed.

“Nice job,” Ulrich said.

“You weren't too bad yourself.” Leo grinned, then he looked around. “Do you think they'll reform?”

“Let's not stick around to find out.”

The pair hurried off towards the cafeteria, where a series of heavy crashes was coming from. No doubt Yumi was there, still fighting her own elemental creature. They followed the trail of destruction, the air thick with dust. Coughing, they hurried onwards, and finally they reached her.

She was dodging massive plumes of mud, weaving around the strikes with ease. Enraged, the monster let out a terrible bellow and began to fire again, but this time the mud solidifed in midair, turning into giant boulders the moment it had released them. Yumi dodged these as well, but she was clearly running out of space to move. With every rock the monster hurled, walls tumbled downwards, rocks blocking the path. It moved closer towards her, and Ulrich detected an air of savage triumph about the beast. Yumi was trapped between it and the solid wall of one of the block classrooms.

“Yumi, no!” Ulrich screamed.

The mud creature struck out, sending giant boulders lashing out towards her. But Yumi ducked aside; the boulders pelted against the wall, and the whole structure came tumbling down, burying the creature in an avalanche of cascading rocks. There was an unpleasant squelching noise, then silence.

Leo and Ulrich froze in their tracks, staring in horror at the mound of boulders. Then Yumi suddenly jumped around from behind it, smiling smugly.

“A problem, boys?” she said.

“That was _great_ , Yumi!” Leo told her, a smile of his own breaking across his face.

“Thanks. Now let's get out of here, before —”

But it was too late. The rocks upon the pile began to shift, and as they turned, they saw that the mound was slowly decreasing in size. Mud welled up from the spaces between the rocks like water from a spring, and the mud creature rose upwards, covering the entire pile. It was devouring the rocks, growing larger with every one it consumed. The air around them got colder, and they wheeled around again; the storm creature had reformed and was gliding towards them, lightning crackling at its center, the water creature behind it, though much smaller than before.

“Any other ideas?” Ulrich croaked.

“Yes, one: RUN!” Yumi screamed.

They ran.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“All right, William, Gabrielle, you handle the cyclops. Aelita, Mila, you take the one with the mace. I'll take care of the lizard.”

“All alone?” Jeremy said.

“Odd, you can't —” Aelita began.

“Don't worry about me, Princess. Just work on getting past the other two.” Odd sped over to William’s side, and Gabrielle changed positions, gripping William’s waist as she hopped onto the Overwing.

“Now!” Odd yelled, and the three vehicles ripped through the air, darting towards the tower.

“ _Energy Field_!” Aelita shouted. A rippling orb of pink energy appeared in her hand and she threw it. It flew through the water, soaring towards the blue-robed giant, but once again it raised its massive hand and fired a burst of red energy, which collided with the Energy Field, stopping it dead in position. The giant kicked into motion, hurtling towards them on her own manta, and Aelita veered leftwards towards a massive coral reef that rose about twenty feet.

Odd, however, zoomed straight towards the dragon-headed giant. The manta it was perched on fired.

“Shield!” Odd cried. His violet barrier appeared before him, deflecting the blast, then Odd raised his hand in the giant's direction. “ _Laser Arrow_!” A volley of arrows burst from his knuckles, but the lizard-like giant deflected them with the metallic-looking scales along its massive arms.

“You'll have to do better than that to defeat Orion the Terrible!” it rasped.

“The Terrible?” Odd repeated, bemused.

“The name's a work in progress,” the giant said, shrugging. “ _Shadow Scale_!”

“Odd, watch out!” Jeremy warned. Tiny scales zipped across the battlefield with alarming speed. Odd zoomed straight upwards, rising towards the twinkling bubble overhead. He wove around the incoming projectiles, then swooped downwards.

“ _Laser Arrow_!”

Three arrows barreled through the water, one after the other. Orion swung his arms before him, deflecting the first two, but the third sank into its chest, causing it to stagger. Odd dove once more, this time taking aim for the manta. His arrow hit the target dead-on between the giant's legs and it exploded. The giant fell through the gloom with a dramatic, rasping wail, and Odd followed.

A short distance away, William and Gabrielle were being chased by the one-eyed Harbinger. The manta it was riding let out a relentless flow of lasers, but Gabrielle deflected them all with her shells. William suddenly wheeled around, sending the Overwing rocketing towards the giant. He wove around the manta’s oncoming strikes, darting forward, and the giant separated his shield-like weapon into two huge swords again. With one hand on the Overwing’s handle, William seized his own sword with the next. They lashed out at the same moment; William’s enormous blade parried the Harbinger’s strikes, but Gabrielle had taken a long slash as they passed, ripping through the giant's side.

Grunting in rage, the giant wheeled around again, and William turned as well, just in time to see something shoot suddenly from the Harbinger’s face.

At first William pulled aside, believing it to be some kind of projectile hurtling towards them. But he soon realized that it had stopped moving, a short distance away from the giant. As the sea’s soft blue light crept over the sphere, they saw that it was the monster's own eye. Gabrielle made a noise of disgust, but William was surveying the eye with suspicion more than revulsion. The red iris was now glowing, a blazing crimson beacon against a brilliant expanse of blue.

“Uh!” William wheeled around just as a wave of red light erupted from the eye, flooding through the water. He had put on a burst of speed, but the light passed over him regardless. The water around him turned scarlet, as though an enormous ink bottle had spilled across the entire sea. And William’s body slowed down. It felt as though they were moving through molasses.

“What — what's going on?” Gabrielle demanded.

“I don't know, I can't go any faster!” William yelled.

The giant's rumbling, derisive laughter echoed through the water. William and Gabrielle turned their heads, very slowly, to look at him. The Harbinger and its manta were soaring towards them, seemingly unaffected by the wave of red light.

Jeremy suddenly gasped. “Now I understand, it's the eye! The eye is slowing you down! This must be the giant's ability to counteract Ulrich’s speed! William, you have to get out of the range of the eye!”

“No kidding, what do you think I've been trying to do!” William said angrily. He forged onwards, pressing as hard as he could against the force acting against them. They could see the sapphire waves rolling around ahead of them. Just a little further —

“William!” Gabrielle screamed. The giant was right behind them, its swords raised, ready to strike. A laser blossomed from the manta’s stingers and soared through the water; it crashed into William’s back and blasted him off the Overwing, through the slow-moving, scarlet-lit water and into the roiling, sapphire waves. Gabrielle seized the controls as quickly as she could, but the giant now came bearing down upon her. He struck out — but a bright pink light suddenly crossed the dark-tinted water and crashed against the giant. As he recoiled, Gabrielle burst out of the red glow, resuming her normal speed.

Aelita, who was gliding above them, still hounded by the blue-robed giant, had spared enough time to assist. Dodging yet another burst of red light, she zoomed upwards, and the Harbinger followed. The red aura behind Gabrielle suddenly disappeared, and Gabrille looked around to see the monster's eye darting back towards him, sinking into place in the hollow space of its forehead.

Grunting in rage, it threw one of its swords. The blade spun through the water, the blue light glancing off its gleaming metal as it flew — William suddenly swam up in front of Gabrielle and threw his own. They flew by each other, the Harbinger’s blade sinking into William’s chest, and his own enormous blade embedded itself in the giant's torso, vaporizing it in a cloud of black-and-red smoke as William vanished in a whirl of light blue strips. As they disappeared, Gabrielle seized one of her scallops and sped towards the manta. She flicked her wrist, intercepting several lasers, then opened the shell, so that her blade of energy hummed to life. She swooped, plunging below the manta, and ran it through the creature's underside.

It exploded. For a moment, it looked as though she'd won — then a pale white object, roughly the size of a baseball, with a pointed, protruding edge appeared directly in front of her, embossed with the symbol of XANA. It began to glow.

“Huh? No —!”

It exploded, and she vanished amid an eruption of piercing white light.

“No!” Aelita said. She wove around yet another streak of red light, and turned to face her advancing enemy, her expression hardening. “All right, enough fooling around! _Energy Field_!”

Her attack flew straight up to the giant. She half-expected it to simply immobilize the strike, but the giant swung her enormous mace and deflected it instead. Her manta fired, and Aelita veered upwards, but the giant threw up her hand, cleaving upwards with the mace. The Overrose devirtualized at the impact, and both Mila and Aelita fell, screaming.

Aelita’s hand flew to the star-shaped band on her wrist and her glowing, fluffy, pink wings sprouted behind her. She righted herself in the water, then dove for Mila, but the black-haired girl had drawn her whip. As the female giant zoomed by atop her manta, the glowing whip cracked out, wrapped around the giant's mace, and yanked it from her hands. The giant bellowed in shock and anger, but Mila wheeled around in the water, swung her whip, and slammed the mace into its owner's chest, knocking it off the manta.

With a screech, the Harbinger shot another jet of red light as it sank into the gloom. Mila froze mid-fall, and the manta soared towards her, blasting her into another whirl of digital strips.

“ _Energy Field_!” The bright pink orb soared through the water and hit the manta, enveloping it in glistening pink energy, and it exploded.

“Nice one, Aelita!” Jeremy called. “Now head for the tower, while Odd is still keeping the other one busy!”

“On my way!” Her wings flapped about her and she took off through the stream, flying towards the tower. Above her, Odd and the Harbinger, Orion, were still locked in fierce battle.

“Porphyrion! Altaea!” he rasped. “You'll pay for them!”

“Sibling drama, nothing new,” Odd said in a bored voice. “ _Laser Arrow_!” The arrowhead fired from his wrist, streaking towards the Harbinger’s dragon-like head, but its snout suddenly flared. The arrow sank into the roof of its mouth just as Orion’s scales ripped through the water; they crashed into Odd, blasting him off the Overboard, and both vanished amid digital bits. Ahead of them, Aelita entered the tower, and vanished.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“See anything?” Yumi whispered.

Ulrich emerged from underneath a countertop on the other side of the room, stood up very slowly, and peered out through the windows; the path outside was quite deserted. “No, nothing.” They had managed to escape from the elemental creatures earlier by darting into the library, diving through the back windows while the monsters proceeded to wreck the front, and then rushing to the other side of the school and taking shelter in the Science Lab, where they hid beneath the tables, awaiting Jeremy’s message that the tower had been deactivated.

The other students had taken refuge in the basement below the school, where they waited in fearful silence, listening to the sound of the monsters ravaging the school above. At last, Ulrich’s phone rang. He answered at once.

“Jeremy? . . . She's inside the tower? Oh, that's great, because we're about ready to be fried over here. We — ah!”

A colossal quake shook the lab, and they flew out from under their hiding places, smashing against the wall. Groaning, Ulrich stood up and hurried to the window. They had been found. The mud monster was hurling boulders up to their section of the block, the aquatic creature shooting jets of water, and the air creature blasting them with lightning, rising slowly upwards towards their window.

“How long did he say until the tower was deactivated?” Leo yelled, as debris rained down around them.

“A minute or two!” Ulrich yelled back. “We just have to —”

A bolt of lightning ripped through the window, striking Leo squarely in the chest. He screamed, and the force of the current sent him flying across the room once again.

“No, Leo!” Yumi shrieked. The noise outside suddenly stopped. Ulrich hurtled to the window. Down below, the three creatures melted away: the mud and water slopped lamely to the floor, and the greyish smoke dispersed upon the air. Yumi, who had joined Ulrich at the window to investigate, now dashed to Leo’s side, feeling for a pulse.

“He's not breathing!” Yumi shouted, in a voice choked with panic. Ulrich whipped out his phone again and dialed Jeremy’s number.

“Jeremy! Leo was hit by a lightning bolt just a while ago, fired by one of XANA’s monsters! Hurry, you have to launch a return to the past, now!”

Jeremy began to splutter in shock and bewilderment, but cut himself off immediately. He hung up, and Ulrich assumed he had realized the severity of the situation and set to work at once to launch the return trip as he fell to Leo’s side again.

“He — he's still not breathing!” Yumi cried, tears welling in her dark eyes. “Ulrich, what if he's — if he's . . . You know the return to the past won't work if he's —”

“No, don't talk like that!” Ulrich said harshly. “He'll be fine. . . . He has to be. . . .”

They stared down at his lifeless body in desperation, hoping, praying. The seconds that passed between them felt like hours in that agonizing wait. . . . Then the all-consuming light erupted into the sky far away, in the direction of the factory, spreading outwards in every direction, enveloping the entire school. . . . When it had died down at last, they were at the lunch table once more.

Yumi and Ulrich blinked, adjusting to the change in scenery. There he was right ahead of them, looking confused, but mercifully unscathed. “You're okay!” they both said in relief.

“Well, I don't feel like it,” Leo grumbled, examining himself. “I swear I still smell like I was singed.”

“As long as you're all right, it doesn't matter,” Yumi said, smiling at him, and Ulrich nodded vigorously in turn.

Leo smiled back. “Anyway, is Jeremy at the factory again?” he asked.

“Nope, he's right here,” said a voice. Jeremy had appeared at their table and dropped into a seat, placing a tray carefully on the table. “Glad to see you're okay," he assured Leo, smiling. Then he continued, "The supercomputer programs aren't affected by the returns to the past any more than we are. The programs I've been working on are still there, so I hurried back as soon as I could. From this point forward, I'm going to try to obtain more data on the Thalassa Base. Then, as soon as I'm done with the new energization program, we'll check it out.”

“Sounds good to me,” William said eagerly, and they all nodded, smiling.


	10. Chapter 10

“No, I changed my mind, I'm not going.”

“ _Jeremy_!”

Several voices rang out in exasperation as Jeremy halted on his way to the gates yet again. He turned to face his entire friend group, shaking his head.

“No, it's a silly idea, I'm staying behind.”

“Come on, Einstein, we talked about this,” Ulrich said.

“He's right, Jeremy. Go, we'll be fine without you,” Aelita said in a soothing voice, but Jeremy wasn't reassured.

“But this could be exactly what XANA is waiting for, Aelita! For our group to divide so that he can strike the moment we're weakened!”

A collective grumble rose across the air again. Odd rolled his eyes and said, “Here we go again.”

Three days prior, Jim and Mr. Delmas, the school principal, had entered the cafeteria during lunchtime and announced that they were planning a special trip for all students to the amusement park that had opened up recently on the other side of town — a so-called “breather” from all the hard work that the students had been doing this year, which, he had stated proudly, had brought the school's average up to the highest they had seen in years. Nearly all the students in each grade had signed up for the trip, and after a lengthy, winding discussion, Jeremy had agreed to go with William, Gabrielle, Ulrich, and Mila, while Odd, Leo, Yumi, and Aelita remained behind, in case XANA decided to launch another attack.

“Jeremy, stop worrying,” Aelita said, losing patience now. “We all learned how to use the supercomputer for situations just like this, and we can't all stay anyway — Jim seems suspicious enough as is. Besides, you could really use the break. Go on, we'll be fine.”

There was a slight pause. Jeremy stared at the asphalt-lined ground, his brow furrowed. Then his shoulders sagged. He looked up, defeated, and sighed, “Okay.”

Aelita smiled and placed a kiss gently on his cheek, which seemed to raise his spirits slightly.

“About time, too,” Ulrich said, resting a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. “The bus is almost ready.”

They looked around. The line leading to the bus had indeed dwindled severely in Jeremy’s moment of indecision. There had been four in total: four large coasters of varying colours, all rented by the school, ready to take the students who'd signed up. Three of them, each sheperded by the teachers Mrs. Mayer, Mr. Fumet, and Mr. Chardin, the art teacher, who had a shock of untidy grey hair and who was slightly mad, had already left. Jim Morales was escorting the final bus, and now, as he checked off the names of the last of the students before him from his list, his beady eyes found Jeremy and the others.

An evil smile stretched his lips and he came marching over to them, his eyes glittering unpleasantly. “ _So_ ,” he said loudly, staring from one to the other. “The whole gang is staying behind, are they?”

“Er — no, Jim,” Jeremy said, hastily plastering a smile of his own across his face. “We're going, we were just saying goodbye first.”

“I bet you were,” growled Jim. “On the bus, Belpois, and anyone else who's going too. We're ready to leave.”

As Ulrich, Mila, Gabrielle, and William followed Jeremy off to the bus door, Jim turned to glower at the others, who all, like Jeremy, tried to muster up the most innocent looks they could. He gave them a plainly mistrustful look, then glanced wistfully at the school behind them, as though he was having second thoughts about leaving. Then he turned on his heel and marched away, disappearing into the coaster.

Jeremy was staring anxiously out his window at everybody else. The bus roared to a start, and they waved until it was out of sight.

“Well, I suppose we should get back now,” Yumi said. “What are we going to do now?”

“Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm going to bring Kiwi out for a walk,” Odd said. “Wanna come?”

“Sure, why not?” Leo said, and they headed off up to Odd’s room.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the bus, Jeremy had taken a seat beside Mila and Gabrielle, who were talking in cheery voices about the day's prospects. He was still staring out the window, watching buildings and lush green fields fly by the bus. He supposed that he ought to take Aelita’s advice and simply relax, as opportunities like this did not come often in their fight against XANA, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they had made a mistake by coming here.

Little though he knew it, his thoughts were shared by William, who was sitting just behind him, beside Ulrich, in an uncomfortable silence. Now that he came to think about it, he had never really had a proper conversation with Ulrich since he had been reinstated as a Lyoko Warrior. Most of their talks, if they had any at all, were limited to Pencak Silat lessons. It was simply too awkward hosting a casual conversation with him, seeing with their past. Yumi had made it clear to him that she had no feelings for him — at least, not anymore — but on that front, why was she not with Ulrich then? Had it not been because of him that he and Yumi had never really taken off in the first place?

William grit his teeth. He would much rather have been back at school, with the possibility of going to Lyoko to fight XANA, than stuck here in this uncomfortable silence, going to an amusement park he did not feel much enthusiasm towards, with such unpleasant thoughts whirling around his brain. Ulrich coughed.

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

“What?” Ulrich said, bemused. “Oh, no, nothing . . . Just a cough. . . .”

They lapsed into silence again, somehow more uncomfortable than before. The ride to the amusement park took about three hours, and nearly every minute of that period, for Ulrich, Jeremy, and William, was spent in anguished silence.

When they had arrived, however, their mouths fell open, and like everybody else along the bus, they breathed sighs of awe.

Superb-looking rides of all shapes and sizes loomed ahead of them, as inviting as they looked dangerous. There was a gigantic, spinning ferris wheel; a rotating tea-cup ride; long, winding, looping roller coasters painted in bright, vibrant colours; and old-fashioned arcade games, among many others.

The air was thick with loud, raucous music, screams of enjoyment (and a few of terror issuing from the enormous Haunted House that rose in the distance), ringing bells that signaled the end of games, squealing brakes.

The sight had completely driven their worries from their minds.

“Well?” Jeremy said keenly. “Which one should we try first?”

Ulrich was looking out at a woman and her young son who had just disembarked from a roller coaster a bit farther out from the gate, labeled, “The Dive of Death.” A smile spread across his face as he watched the boy splatter the ground with sick, and he pointed at the ride he had just gotten off of. “Why don't we try _that_ one first?”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a quiet day, with about three-quarters of the school gone. Aelita, Odd, Yumi, and Leo weren't the only ones who had chosen to stay behind. A few others had opted to remain as well, a trickle of kids from each grade, including Sissi.

This struck Aelita as particularly odd, as it was her own father, Mr. Delmas, that had suggested the trip. Wouldn't he have wanted his daughter, especially, to go, if he really wanted to treat the student body? It was indeed peculiar, but all the same, Aelita tried her best not to dwell too much on the subject of the trip. There was a small, wistful knot in her stomach; a part of her _would_ really have liked to have gone, but she knew there was no way. If XANA attacked while they were all the way on the other side of town, there would be nothing they could do.

At least this way, _someone_ got to have fun. Well, maybe Mila and Gabrielle. Jeremy, William, and Ulrich didn't seem particularly fond of the idea, which was precisely why she wanted them specifically to go. They had the most problems of the entire group, they would need the reprieve the most.

The rest of the day passed smoothly and quietly. After a nice walk and talk through the forest, the four ventured to the cafeteria. Since so many students were absent, Rosa had decided to have a small, casual luncheon with the remaining students. They moved their tables to form a small circle with her at the center, and she began to tell them stories of when she was younger. Aelita was quite intrigued when she started on the time she had helped the police solve a murder mystery, but at this point, Sissi moved her seat a little nearer and smiled at Aelita. Aelita wanted to return her attention to Rosa’s thrilling tale, but her curiosity got the better of her.

“How come you didn't leave with everybody else?” she asked.

Sissi’s eyes glinted rather suspiciously. “I was the one who brought the idea to Daddy, you know. After he told me about the school's improvement, I suggested a reward. I didn't really feel much up to going to some silly theme park, but I'm sure the other students would have liked that. And you? How come you stayed behind?”

Aelita shrugged. “More or less the same,” she said carelessly.

Sissi made to respond, but she was forestalled by a sudden muffled sort of beeping. Aelita quickly opened her bag and plunged a hand inside, extracted her laptop, and opened it a fraction. A tower had been activated on Xanadu.

She looked around, intending to inform Yumi, Odd, and Leo, but they had caught the alert too. She nodded, gesturing furtively at the door, then turned to Sissi with a huge, fake smile. “Well, thanks for the talk, but we were going to go study now. Bye.”

They stood and, as casually as they could, strolled out of the room. Once out of sight of the lunchroom, they broke into a run towards the woods.

“Activated tower on Xanadu — Volcano Sector,” she told them.

“And we don't even know what XANA’s attack could be,” Odd said. “Do you think somebody should stay behind, watch the school?”

“No, XANA’s aiming for us so we need to stay as far from the other students as possible, to protect them.”

“What about the others?” Leo asked, as they made their descent into the sewers. “Should we tell them?”

Aelita hesitated. “No,” she decided, picking up her scooter. “We'll handle it. We don't need to worry them about anything, let them have today. Besides, they're on the other side of town, there's nothing they can do.”

This was, of course, true, but a feeling of unease still hung in the air as they made their way to the factory, like a dark cloud looming above them. Once they had arrived, Aelita virtualized Yumi, Odd, and Leo, then set up a timed, automatic process for herself. As she landed in the Arena, she looked up and said, “Okay, let's go. The vehicles are already at the Dome.”

They hurried off through the Core Zone, then rode the elevator up to the Celestial Dome. Yumi, Aelita, and Odd all took their places at their vehicles’ helms, but Leo hesitated, staring at the Overbike. Then he jumped onto it, smiling, and revved the bike. “Oh yeah, driver's seat for once!” he said happily.

They flew off into the long, golden tunnel, then emerged into Xanadu’s atmosphere, and they all paused in midair.

“Ah great,” Odd said bitterly, looking around. “Now what?”

They had arrived in Xanadu’s Swamp Region.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had to be the Haunted House.

Jeremy, William, Ulrich, Gabrielle, and Mila had had a good morning, rushing from ride to ride along with the rest of their peers. They had played the bumper cars, ridden the Dive of Death (Jeremy felt woozy for a solid twenty minutes afterwards), the Ferris Wheel, and several other major attractions. By midday, they were all laughing as hard as the other children, actually enjoying themselves.

After a quick snack on the bus, Gabrielle suggested that they try the Haunted House next. Jeremy had promptly refused, claiming that it would undoubtedly be a waste of time, with all the poor, cheesy effects and non-frightening, overused gimmicks that the house had surely been stocked with. Eventually they wore him down, and he grudgingly agreed to go. His snorts did not subside, however, after they had entered. The room was precisely how he had expected it to be. Poor lightning, bad props, cheap, predictable scare tactics. By the time they had gone three rooms in, even the others seemed disappointed.

He was about to tell them a hearty “I told you so,” and suggest that they not waste any more time and simply find a new ride, when the front door slammed shut with a very audible thud. They had to have been several rooms into the House by now, which was full of screams and all sorts of weird sound effects, but the noise had reverberated through the hall as though they had been standing right in front of the door.

Then, quite abruptly, the lights and sound all went off, as though the park had lost power, but they could hear the rides going steadily outside. There was a short pause — then a long, piercing scream suddenly rent the air, shattering the bewildered silence. Jeremy felt a flush of genuine fear.

“That — that sounded pretty real,” he said, gulping.

“Because it was.” The voice spoke from behind them, deep and oily, and vaguely familiar. They all whipped around at the sound, just as a blood-red glow filled the room, streaming from the fixtures around. They were now looking up at the clown that had been posted at the door in the room they had just left, which was set up to jump out at people when they approached and laugh.

“That — that was in the other room, wasn't it?” Ulrich said, his voice quivering slightly. “How did it get in here?”

The clown let out his awful laugh, and he lunged. The fake knife he was holding slashed through the air, and William fell backwards with a scream.

“William!” Jeremy shouted. The blue-haired youth was lying on the ground, clutching his shoulder, his face screwed up in pain. Underneath the scarlet light, they saw that a long gash had spread along his arm, and blood was welling up from the wound.

They looked around in horror. The knife that the clown had used was covered in blood, and the clown was running his tongue across the blade, licking the scarlet splatters off with the same relish Odd often reserved for meatballs and gravy at school. He looked up slowly, and his eyes flashed. Even by the dim, bloody glow cast by the overhead bulbs, there was no mistaking that symbol.

“ _XANA_!” Jeremy shouted.

The clown launched itself forward, seized Jeremy by the collar and slammed him to the ground, then raised its knife, so that droplets of blood spattered across his glasses. Just as it swung downwards, Ulrich came lunging out of nowhere. He kicked the clown aside, then heaved Jeremy from the floor.

“Come on!” he yelled, and they all sprinted away, the clown’s terrible laughter still ringing in their ears.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How are we supposed to find a Way Tower like this?” Yumi demanded.

“We can't. Oh, I'm so lame, I completely forgot that entrance into Xanadu is randomized!” Aelita moaned.

“All right, one of us will have to go back to get the right coordinates for that tower,” Leo said. “I'll go.”

“No, I should do it,” Odd said. “I have more experience with the supercomputer, it’ll be easier that way. Someone fire at me.”

They exchanged looks, then Yumi said, “Okay,” and flicked her wrist; a fan appeared in her hand, the metallic leaves glowing brightly. “On three, Odd. One . . . two . . .”

Odd closed his eyes, waiting for “three” — but it never came. He felt a blinding, searing pain in his chest, followed by the sensation of falling. . . . Then he was sitting on the floor of one of the scanners, rubbing his chest as the doors opened. He stood up and slouched up to the Lab Room, muttering darkly.

He plopped himself down in Jeremy’s seat, seized the mic, positioned it upon his ear, and began to type. His fingers were less practiced on the keyboard than Jeremy’s, but he managed well enough. A digital map of the Swamp Sector appeared, with three dots marking his friends. The map expanded, spreading outwards, and at last the target tower swam upon the surface.

“Aelita, Yumi, Leo,” Odd called.

“Odd, have you found it yet?” Aelita said.

“Yes, that Way Tower is bearing northwest of where you are now.”

“Got it, we're on our way.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Haunted House was full of screams once more, but this time the shrieks were of genuine terror, issuing from victims of the once-corny attractions that had sprung to life into horrible, malevolent beasts the moment XANA had taken control of the site. Footsteps thundered through the rooms above, below, and just beyond the rooms where Jeremy, William, Mila, Gabrielle, and Leo were, along with other, sinister noises that they didn't want to think about what they could have belonged to.

Ulrich led Jeremy, William, and the two girls into a room that had clearly been adorned with large, inanimate spiders; there were cobwebs strung all along the room, which were now empty except for several huge, black balls stuck here and there along the threads.

“I think we're safe here,” Ulrich panted.

“Don't bet on that,” William said, looking deeply uncomfortable, still clutching his shoulder; Ulrich had just remembered his fear of spiders.

“Oh, William,” Mila said. “Here — let me have a look —” She pried his hand from his shoulder, examined the wound, and then ripped a piece of fabric from her skirt, finishing by wrapping the cloth firmly around his shoulder. “Now keep pressure on that.”

“Don't worry about me, I'll be fine,” William said, though he maintained a tight grip on the cloth regardless. “Our priority right now should be getting out of here.”

“Out?” Ulrich raised his eyebrows. “And what about everyone else, huh, we just leave them to die?”

“We can't help anybody if _we_ get killed too!” William said angrily. “XANA is after _us_ , everyone else is just —”

“Just what?” Ulrich’s hands had balled into fists at his sides, and he was gritting his teeth. “Just _what_ , William?”

“That's enough, you two!” Jeremy said, leaping up and launching himself between the pair, who were still glaring at each other. He hastily wiped the blood from his glasses, replaced them on the bridge of his nose, and then said, “We won't get anywhere by arguing.”

“No.” William pushed Jeremy’s hand out of the way. “I want to hear what Mr. Bigshot has to say.”

Jeremy started to protest, but before Ulrich knew what he was saying, the resentment that had been building up inside him for however long he didn't know came bursting out as though a hole had been punctured in his chest: “You want to know what my problem is, William? It's you! You keep trying to prove to everybody that — what? — you're as good as everyone else? Better? You're reckless and impulsive, you don't care about anybody else so long as you get what _you_ want — like right now, and like your “revenge” on XANA. We're all just a means to an end to you, aren't we? Just an easy way to get some action on Lyoko, because the normal world's too boring for you, isn't it?”

“You don't know what you're talking about!” William roared.

“Shhhh!” Jeremy said desperately, looking around nervously. “William, please —”

But Gabrielle now seized his shoulder and pulled him away from the glowering duo, shaking her head. “You don't get it, Jeremy," she said quietly. "Growing up with a sibling, you learn: sometimes you need to get it out, before you can get past it.”

Mila looked uncomfortable, but she did not protest. Jeremy looked at her, then at William and Ulrich, and sighed, watching anxiously as William began to shout again.

“You think this is about having a good time on Lyoko? That I just want to have revenge on XANA? Yeah, I'm not going to deny that I still have those thoughts, but you know the real reason I wanted to join you guys again? Because you understand! I had months of my life stolen away from me, by an evil computer virus that wants to destroy the world, that lives in a virtual space projected by a supercomputer in the factory near our school! Did you ever stop to think how hard that could be for me? Having to bottle all of that up? I can't talk about anything that happened to me, because I'll end up exposing everything, and that's if they even believe me instead of just thinking I'm nuts!

“I wanted to join you because I wanted friends!” William bellowed. “There, I said it. The cool, stoic bad boy was lonely. You happy? I don't have anyone, and I saw how close you all are with each other and you know what — maybe I wanted that too. It'd be much better than what I've had to suffer through in the past few months. You know how hard it is to reconnect, when I've been out of touch with the entire world for months? But I can see that I'm still not welcome, that I'll _never_ be welcome. So you know what? I'm done.”

William’s eyes were swimming with tears, but his expression was still as hard as stone.

“You won't have to worry about me anymore. I've been thinking for the longest time anyway, just to get my dad to transfer me, put me somewhere I can try to leave all this behind me. If I make it out of here, you'll never have to see me again. I'm sure that'll make you happy.” And he strode past Ulrich, banging his shoulder against him as he moved, and out the door, leaving a stunned silence behind him. It stretched on for a few seconds, then Jeremy swallowed and said, “I should go after him.” He started to move, but Ulrich waved him down.

“No,” he said. “I should be the one.”

“Hurry back,” Jeremy called after him, as Ulrich rushed out of the room. He hurried through the dark halls, whose walls were stained horribly with what he sincerely hoped was fake blood pasted there before the park had opened, and caught up with William around the corner.

“Wait!”

William ignored him.

“You're right!”

At these words, William stopped, but he did not turn around. “About what?” he growled.

“Everything,” Ulrich sighed. “I've been a jerk to you, ever since we met, and it's . . . it's . . .” He hesitated, but William had told him his truth, it was only fair to do the same. He took a deep breath and plunged on, “Because I was jealous!”

At last, William turned around. He looked shocked. “Jealous? Of what?”

“Of you, idiot,” Ulrich said. “And no, it's not because of Yumi. That's part of it, yes. But it's mostly because of . . . well, _you_. You're cool, good-looking, popular. Then there was how great you were on Lyoko. I guess I was just jealous of how perfect you are.”

“But I'm not,” said William. “Far from it.”

“I know that, but it's still not that easy to wrap around with . . . with everything that's happened. I was being stupid. I treated you badly because I was viewing you the way I did in my head, and that's not the real you. You don't have to change schools, you're as much a part of this group as any of us. And I'm sorry I made you feel differently.”

William’s face slowly broke into a smile, and so did Ulrich’s. Before either could say anything else, the clown’s horrible laughter reached their ears again, alarmingly close.

“First thing's first,” Ulrich said, grinning. “Shall we take out the trash?”

William smirked. “It would be my honour,” he said, and they hurried back towards the others.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Following Odd's directions, Yumi, Aelita, and Leo located the tower, entered, and then changed sectors. They erupted onto the pitch-black terrain of the Volcano Sector, illuminated by the dark red glow of the digital lava.

"The activated tower is bearing west," Odd told them.

"Got it," said Yumi, as they changed direction. "Have you gotten through to Ulrich and the others?" she added.

"No, still nothing."

"That's not ominous at all," Leo muttered. The tower loomed into view, like an enormous stick of chalk sprouting from the dark ground.

"Careful," Odd said. "Three tarantulas up ahead!"

"All right, one for each of us," Aelita said. All three broke off, soaring towards the monsters settled on the ground. The tarantulas were adjusting their positions, reclining on their hind legs and taking aim with the lasers attached to their front. Streaks of red light burst through the air. Leo wove around the oncoming strikes and seized his lightning bolt, preparing to fire, but a laser suddenly crashed against the front of the bike and it vanished beneath him. Screaming, Leo fell towards the ground. He crashed onto the dark earth, his lightning bolt clattering away from him. He looked up, groaning, and saw the tarantula taking aim for him again.

"No!" he yelled, his hands flying up before him, almost automatically. He heard several dull thuds, felt an odd tingling feeling, and looked up slowly, curiously. A yellow aura was lining his body, like a kind of golden halo. The tarantula's lasers were crashing against him, but he couldn't feel a thing. "Hey, what's going on?" he said, bewildered.

"I don't know, but — you haven't lost any life points at all!" Odd said, sounding amazed.

"Woah," Leo said, examining himself. The tarantula had stopped firing, looking just as bemused as Leo himself. Yumi swooped past, a fan glowing in her hand. She flung, and the fan spiraled through the air, streaking towards the confused tarantula. It sliced through the mark along its massive snout, and it exploded in a shower of digital bits.

"Yeah!" Leo cried. He heard a metallic, clanking sort of noise, and turned to see a second tarantula, Yumi's target, aiming at him. He smirked — then the golden halo, which he had taken as some kind of shield, suddenly faded. "Huh? No —!"

A volley of lasers shot towards him, sank into his chest, and sent him flying backwards, his digital form bursting into a storm of digital strips. Yumi dived again, this time throwing both of her fans. The tarantula's lasers crashed into the Overwing, and it disappeared beneath her feet, sending her plummeting into a pool of digital lava, which swallowed her with a shriek of pain. The tarantula dodged the first fan, but the second ripped through its snout, exploding it.

"Aelita, there's only one left now!" Odd said. "Hurry!"

"I just have to — take care — of this one," she said, dodging several lasers as she spoke. The Overrose too was hit, vanishing in midair like the Overwing and Overbike, but Aelita spun through the air, her wings blooming from her back, and she managed to remain airborne.

" _Energy Field_!" she said, and she fired at the tarantula. The strike hit it point-blank, coating it in rippling pink energy, and Aelita swooped towards the tower just as it exploded.

She floated up to the second level, placed her hand on the interface, and watched as the data in the tower streamed below as it fell neutral once more.

"Odd, have you programmed the return to the past?" she asked.

"Of course I did, Princess. Get ready then — return to the past, now!"

\--------------------------------------------------

"And that's what happened," Jeremy said.

"Wow, that sounds terrible," Aelita said. "I just hope no one was — you know —"

"No, I don't think anyone was. We got really close, though. Especially when those spiders came back —" His face twisted in disgust. "But apart from that, it wasn't too bad. William, Ulrich, and Gabrielle did a pretty great job."

"I wish we could go," Aelita said, sighing. "Now that it's over."

"Who says you can't?" said Jeremy, gesturing happily at the buses. The motion was caught by Jim, who saw off the rest of the students and came stomping over to them.

"So, the whole gang is staying behind, huh?"

Jeremy exchanged looks with the others, then smiled brightly at Jim.

"No, Jim. Actually, we'd all like to go. It's not too late to sign up, is it?"

Jim looked taken aback. "Well . . . no, I suppose not. Get on. But I don't want any funny business, you hear me?" he growled suddenly.

"None at all!" Jeremy told him, and they all hurried onto the bus. Ulrich sat beside William once again, with Leo and Odd on their right, and Yumi, Aelita, Mila, Gabrielle, and Jeremy in front. None of them appeared uncomfortable anymore. William and Ulrich smiled at each other, an easy gesture. And they drove off, talking cheerily about the ride.

"So," Odd interjected around a half hour later. "I've been thinking. Seeing as we've taken care of XANA for now, how about we check out the Haun —"

"No!" they shouted.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all! I was supposed to be uploading three chapters today, but unfortunately, between typing up the drafts and editing, along with working on my other stories, I only managed to complete two. 
> 
> New chapters will be posted as soon as possible.

Ulrich’s life was not an easy one. He knew, of course, that none of his friends’ lives were. On top of all of them struggling with their ongoing crusade against XANA, Yumi had to endure her parents’ ever-growing suspicions about her extracurricular activities, and the consequent confrontations they held in which they tried to force her to tell them the truth about what she was really doing; Jeremy had to spend hours a day devoted to tedious programming work to aid in their fight against XANA; Aelita had lost her only remaining family member due to their exploits on Lyoko, and though she never spoke of it, it was obvious that it was still weighing on her; Odd’s grades had started to show the familiar strain that accompanied their duties, and though they tried to hide it, it was obvious that the heavy workload was now catching up with Mila and the Corentins as well.

For Ulrich, his main problems now, outside of Lyoko, were his grades, which had started plummeting yet again since XANA’s reappearance, and the upcoming soccer season, which would begin that very day.

He had explained to the others, with complete honesty, that he couldn't simply sit by and continue with regular school life while XANA threatened the world again, but it was still quite disheartening, knowing that he had been waiting for the chance for so long, only to have it ripped away from him at the very last moment. Jim and his father had been quite displeased when he had broken the news to them as well. Jim’s pains had been, of course, the trouble it was going to bring to replace his star Striker. But his father. . . .

He had seized the opportunity a few nights ago, when Odd had left the room to play video games with Leo and William, leaving him alone to watch Kiwi, to finally call. After several minutes of idle waiting, he took a deep breath, seized his phone, dialed his father's number, and explained to him as calmly as he could what had happened.

Only very few times had he ever heard his father so angry. He had shouted so loudly on the other end, with no prospect of stopping, that Ulrich had had to hang up, looking aghast at the phone as though it was on a timer to explode. Thankfully, his father hadn't thought to phone back since then, and neither had he.

Fortunately, with everything seemingly crashing down around him, Ulrich at least had his friends to make it through the next few days. Though he did not show it — more because he didn't know how to than anything — he was extremely grateful for each and every one of them, William in particular. It was only now that Ulrich truly understood what he had meant at the Haunted House, about needing to be around people who understood, or even shared, his burdens. He had not realized until now how much he had in common with William either, particularly their fondness for martial arts, and with the tension that had cemented between them for the past year having melted away, they were now able to talk and laugh with each other as easily as he would be able to with any other member of the group.

Ulrich, who had been lying awake in bed with his arms folded beneath his head, staring up at the ceiling, prised himself from the mattress as Odd awoke on the other side of the room and together they strode to the washroom. There they met up with William and Leo, with whom they went down to the lunchroom when they had finished showering, and found that Jeremy, surprisingly, was already sitting at the table with the girls.

They exchanged greetings, then sat down, ready to eat. As breakfast rode on, Ulrich couldn't help but notice that Jeremy looked rather excited, not eating, but typing away on his laptop. And sure enough barely five minutes had passed when Jeremy let out a stifled sort of shout.

“Yes!”

Everyone fell silent, staring at him.

“Finally done, huh. Now will you tell us what's going on?” Yumi asked.

Jeremy looked around, then leaned forward and whispered triumphantly, “I've done it!”

“Done what?” William asked.

“The program I've been working on for the past few days, the incomplete template I found in the data stream.”

“You mean, you can send us to the Thalassa Base now?” Odd asked, his eyes widening.

“I should be able to,” Jeremy said, looking very smug. “But we won't try anything just yet!” he added suddenly, as a wave of excitement rose visibly around the table. “We still need to make sure that the program is completely safe before we can do anything.”

“Fair enough, but speaking of programs,” Leo said, “didn't you say that you had some new ones prepared?”

“Yep. Well, not completely. I'll be done with them after a few more observations, until then, we'll just have to manage how we are.”

“All right then, enough computer talk for now,” Odd said impatiently. “Let's talk about the real important stuff: like the football game this afternoon.”

Jeremy scoffed. “Football? Really, Odd?”

“Yeah. Well, no, not the game specifically. The pool!”

“What pool?” asked Yumi.

“You know, the pool on which school is going to win.”

“Ah, you mean an illegal gambling bet,” Gabrielle said, raising her eyebrows.

“Well, that's one way to look at it,” William said.

“Don't tell me _you're_ in it too,” she said, exasperated.

“In it? He practically _started_ it!” Odd said brightly, clapping William on the back, who grinned in an embarrassed sort of way. “But that's not the point. The whole school's betting. Any other takers?”

He was met with a series of murmurs of dissent and head-shakes.

“Well, I'll be entering,” Odd continued, undaunted. “You won't mind if I bet Vankirke, will you, Ulrich? Without you on the team, I can't see much in the way of Kadic’s chances.”

“Go right ahead, good buddy,” Ulrich said dispassionately, taking a swig of his soda.

“Everything okay, Ulrich?” Yumi asked, watching him with concern.

“Hmm? Yeah — fine,” he said, jerking out of his reverie.

“Are you coming to the game?” Odd asked him.

“No, don't think I will.”

“I get it. Anybody else?”

After a short discussion, they agreed that Jeremy, Aelita, Leo, Gabrielle, and Ulrich would spend the session in the factory, and everyone else would go to the game. Their first class of the day was English; for one hour they flicked through the pages of one of their Shakespeare books, listening to their teacher recite boring literature, though it seemed intriguing enough to her to reduce her to tears of wonder. Gym Class was next, where they were forced to scale the rock wall. Odd, Ulrich, Mila, Gabrielle, and even Aelita all managed the wall in good time, but Jeremy fell off on his first try.

Jim did not let him off, however. He demanded that Jeremy return to the platform, shouting words of encouragement and disappointment all at once, and only when he'd made it to the top, on his third try, did Jim pronounce himself satisfied and move on with the rest of the class.

“ _That's_ more like it!” he roared, as Jeremy tried to climb back down, slipped, and went crashing to the rubbery mat below.

They went to lunch afterwards, trading tales of their horrible first sessions with William, Leo, and Yumi, while students furtively appeared in singles and pairs around their table to meet with Odd and William, placing bets on the match. Their next class was Science, but the lesson, thankfully, was cut short by the approaching match, which was the opening game of the season. Odd, Mila, William, and Yumi trooped down to the field with the rest of the students, while Leo, Gabrielle, Ulrich, Jeremy, and Aelita snuck off to the factory.

Leo, Gabrielle, and Ulrich talked in a corner while Aelita and Jeremy worked on their incomplete programs; or, rather, Leo and Gabrielle talked while Ulrich sat with his head in his hands, plagued by wistful visions of himself back at school, marching onto the field with his fellow football players. The conversation had just steered into childhood memories territory when a series of blaring filled the room, accompanied by a cry of shock and anger from Jeremy.

Leo leapt to his feet at once. “Is that —?”

“Yeah, XANA really doesn't know when to take a break, does he?” Jeremy said angrily. “A tower has been activated in — hey. . . . This one's not on Xanadu, it's actually on Lyoko. The Ice Sector.”

“Should we leave now or wait for the others?” Gabrielle asked.

“Hang on, I'll try to call them first.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

William couldn't decide which was worse, Kadic’s abysmal performance, or Odd’s consequent delight. He had not been a student at the school during the previous football season, when Ulrich had been the team Striker, and though he only ever heard praising remarks about his time on the team, and a few comments of disappointment from others who had heard he had no plans to play this year, William was confident that their team would pull through. With the way things were going, however, it was quite clear that he had been very wrong. And from the looks of it, many other students had predicted this as well. No doubt each of them would be going to bed with their pockets stuffed this evening.

Jim was looking at a loss for words. He was gazing blankly out at the field, but he winced each time the rival team scored a goal. William, who had indeed pawned the idea of a pool in his confidence that Kadic would make it without Ulrich, was almost glad when his phone rang, as it served as a distraction from the slaughter going on below him. Almost.

“Hello? Jeremy?” He had to shout into the phone, one hand over his other ear, in order to hear. “An activated tower? All right, we're on our way.” He dropped his phone hand and looked around at his friends, who had not heard a word of his conversation in all the racket. “We've gotta go, there's an activated tower on Lyoko!” he shouted.

Yumi and Mila looked relieved at the idea of leaving the scene below behind, and Odd disappointed.

“Come on, Odd, you can find out the scores later,” William said, making to stand, but Yumi suddenly gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as she stared, horrified, at the field below. William spun around as cries of terror rang out from around the stands.

Pools of black lightning were now swirling around at several different spots on the field, and all the players were fleeing at breakneck speed, screaming in alarm. When the sudden surge had cleared, William’s mouth had fallen open in genuine terror as well.

Three massive black spheres were now resting on the field, each the size of a car, gleaming in the bright sunlight. XANA had managed to teleport three Megatanks.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“ _What_?” Jeremy gasped.

“It's true, it's just happened, three of them!” William told him.

“But — that's not — how —?”

“The ‘how’ doesn't matter, Jeremy! You've gotta deactivate the tower now, you know what the Megatanks are capable of, they could destroy the whole school in seconds!”

“All right, we're on it," Jeremy assured him. "You guys be careful.” He hung up, then addressed Leo, Aelita, Gabrielle, and Ulrich, typing at the same time. “Listen, you guys, you've got to get to Lyoko now, XANA’s just managed to teleport three Megatanks directly into the stadium.”

“Megatanks?” Leo repeated, stunned. “But — they're some of XANA’s most destructive monsters, that's what you said, isn't it?”

“Yes, which means we don't have a second to waste, they could wipe out the whole town in a matter of minutes,” Jeremy said. “Head for the Scanner Room.”

Within a few minutes, they had climbed down into the Scanner Room, taken their places in the Scanners, and been virtualized into the frosty terrain of the Ice Sector. The Overrose, Overbike, and Overboard were already waiting for them. As they moved to take their places, Jeremy called, a little slyly, “You'll be able to handle it, right, Gabrielle?”

“Oh, no problem,” she said cheerfully, leaping onto the Overboard. They flew off towards the tower in the distance, Gabrielle zipping along as easily as if it had been designed for her and not Odd. As they rode, another tower swam into view, directly on their right.

“Wait, hold on!” Leo called. Ulrich, Gabrielle, and Aelita pulled their vehicles to a halt, looking around at him curiously. “Jeremy, there's a neutral tower nearby.”

“Yes, I can see it, Leo. What's going on?”

“Well, think about it. If XANA teleported monsters that dangerous, the others are going to need help more than anyone back home can provide.”

“What are you —?” Jeremy began, but then it seemed he understood. “No! Absolutely not, it's still untested!”

“Well, this is your chance to test it, then,” Leo said. “You'll send one of us back home to help with the Megatanks, and the others will head for the tower.”

“Leo that's — that's actually a good idea,” Gabrielle said, looking as surprised as Leo did by her agreement with him.

“But —” Jeremy protested.

“Have you got a better idea?” Leo demanded. “William, Odd, Yumi, and Mila could die, along with everybody else at school. And then where would we be? You're the ones who told us — returns to the past don't work on skeletons.”

There was a deeply uncomfortable silence. Then, in the gentlest, most fearful voice Leo had ever heard him use, Jeremy said, “Leo . . . are you sure?”

Leo was about to respond, but Ulrich suddenly spoke up, “It's the only way, Jeremy. They'll go to the tower, and you'll send me back home. I trust you, Jeremy.”

These words seemed to act as a kind of stimulant. “Okay,” Jeremy said, voice firm once more. “Aelita, Gabrielle, Leo, go on. Ulrich . . . head for the neutral tower.”

Ulrich slipped off the Overbike and Leo moved forward, grasping the handles. He, Aelita, and Gabrielle were all looking at Ulrich, who grinned back at them.

“Don't worry about me, guys. It'll take much more than an untested program to get rid of me. Go on and get that tower deactivated, I'll go help our friends in the meantime.”

They all exchanged looks. Then they nodded at Ulrich and took off, and Ulrich sprinted towards the tower. Boosted by his virtual speed, he covered the distance in seconds, then burst into the tower, coming to a halt in the dead center of the platform, while Jeremy began to set up the new program. After a few moments, he said, “Are you ready, Ulrich?”

“I'm ready.”

Jeremy took a deep breath, then tapped the enter key. “ _Code . . . Zero_.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Megatanks did not immediately move, and neither, unfortunately, did the crowd. Though they had been frightened by the sudden surge of electricity, enough so to hurry away from the field, their curiosity of the appearance of these three large black spheres kept them rooted to the spot in the stands. Even Odd, Yumi, Mila, and William were gazing out at them, wondering what was happening.

“Did something go wrong with the teleportation?” Mila asked. “Why haven't they done anything?”

“Maybe XANA was too weak to pull it off,” Odd suggested hopefully. “Maybe he oversold himself, thought he could do it, but then —”

A loud, metallic, all-too familiar whirring noise rose across the air, reverberating from the stands, and, one-by-one, the three Megatanks prised themselves apart, revealing their belt-like interiors. They began to build up energy, charging it into the symbol at the center of the belt, and luckily, the crowd's fright seemed to outweigh their curiosity. They began to scream again, rushing away from the field as fast as they could.

Then the Megatanks fired. Three enormous walls of energy burst outwards from the belts, slamming into the walls around them; the first ripped across the field, vaporizing the goal posts, narrowly missing the Vankirke goal-keeper, who almost fell over in his haste to escape. The other two crashed into the bleachers; one of them struck so close to their stretch of the stands that the impact sent Odd, Yumi, William, and Mila, who had been running away from the spot, flying across the stands.

They crashed heavily, groaning as they prised themselves from the cold ground of the stands. Then they got to their feet, their muscles aching, and looked up to see one of the Megatanks turned directly towards them, preparing another attack.

They tried to move, but it was too late. The wall of energy erupted from the Megatank’s belt and flew towards them, and Odd knew that it was over. He closed his eyes, waiting for the blow to land, his ears full of Mila and Yumi’s screams. But it never came. In its stead, he heard the strangest sound, a grating, rasping sound, like the noise he would sometimes hear when the gardener, Mr. Rouiler, was sharpening his tools in his shed. He opened his eyes and saw, to his astonishment, Ulrich standing before him, wearing his Lyoko gear, exactly the way they did when they had been telported from the Skid.

“Ulrich!” William said. He was standing with his sabers crossed diagonally, keeping the Megatank’s blast at bay. “How did you —?”

“No time, just get out of here!” Ulrich said urgently.

Odd and William leapt to their feet and dove aside, Mila and Yumi just ahead of them, and Ulrich moved away, letting the blast hit the wall, which crumbled beneath the blow. As the blast faded away, Ulrich raced towards the Megatank, then jabbed his sword into the mark protruding from its belt. The monster faded away like a kind of crude hologram. Ulrich sheathed his swords and raced back towards his friends.

“Ulrich!” Yumi said, staring at him in awe. “But, how are you here?”

“Jeremy’s new program,” Ulrich said. "It actually works. Happy to see me?” he added, grinning.

“You have no idea,” Mila said, relief flooding through her.

Ahead of them, the ground started to rumble as the remaining two Megatanks rolled towards each other, closing in on their targets.

“Hurry,” Ulrich said, suddenly grim, “get to the factory, I'll take care of them.”

“But didn't Jeremy say that this teleportation was permanent?” Odd asked quickly. “So if you get hit —?”

The Megatanks began to charge energy again.

“No time, Odd, just go!” Ulrich said.

They dashed away, and seconds later, as they reached the gates, they heard the sound of a colossal explosion. They looked back as they ran, but Ulrich was lost to view behind a massive cloud of dust.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aelita, Leo, and Gabrille sped towards the tower. As they got nearer, they could make out several figures hovering around its base.

“Heads up, you three,” Jeremy called. “Three Krabs ahead of you, and Porphyrion and Altaea are there too!”

“Ah great, just what we needed,” Leo said bitterly. “All right, Aelita, you take care of the Krabs, we'll try to buy you time with the Harbingers.”

“In that case, Leo, you take Porphyrion, a ranged weapon would be better against his abilities, and Gabrille, you handle Altaea, but remember to avoid getting hit by her paralysis ability,” Jeremy said.

“Okay, let's go.” Aelita fell behind as Leo and Gabrielle surged forward. Just as they had done their first time in the Sea Sector, they broke off in different directions, and Porphyrion and Altaea followed obediently, leaving Aelita with the Krabs.

They immediately reacted, firing a volley of lasers. Aelita swerved around the strikes, weaving through the space between two of the Krabs, and circled around the tower. As she appeared around the other side, she raised her hand, cried, " _Energy Field_!" and an orb of bright pink, restlessly swirling energy appeared above her palm. She pointed her hand at one of the Krabs and the ball flew from her fingers, engulfing the creature in a surge of energy.

As it exploded, she glided past the remaining two, still dodging a barrage of lasers. Then quite suddenly one crashed into the Overrose, knocking her off course. It skidded along the Desert floor and sent her tumbling off. Rubbing her head, she stood up; a quick glance behind her showed the Krabs advancing upon her. She sprang to her feet and pelted away, still dodging lasers.

Ahead of her, Leo revved the Overbike furiously, trying to put as much distance between himself and his pursuer, but Porphyrion followed dutifully, his enormous legs tromping along quite fast behind him. Leo glanced back in time to see him hoist his large, silver, shield-like weapon, pull it into two huge swords, and swing.

It seemed like a pointless move at first — Leo was well out of range. But then he heard a distinct hum and looked around again to see a circular surge of energy flying towards him. He tried to veer the vehicle away, but the blast hit its rear before he could turn and the Overbike dematerialized instantly: Leo went skidding away across the icy floor, his lightning bolt clattering alongside him.

“Leo!” Jeremy called.

He skidded to a halt, then got to his feet, still listening to Porphyrion’s great feet crunching against the ground behind him as he drew closer. Leo dove straight for his lightning bolt, and electricity crackled along the grate as his fingers closed around the shaft. He sent out a jet of electricity to keep the giant at bay, but Porphyrion deflected it with one of his swords and sent another blast of energy hurtling towards him.

Gabrielle soared past on his right as he dodged the monster's attack, whipping along on the Overboard, twisting and turning in midair with expert skill as she dodged jets of scarlet light from Altaea.

She glanced sideways, saw Leo, and changed direction, shooting straight towards him. As she zipped by, Leo jumped onto the Overboard and she plunged upwards.

“Nice one, Sis!” Leo said, as Porphyrion let out a bellow of rage. Blasts of glistening silver-blue energy now joined the streaks of scarlet light as the giants attacked in unison. Gabrielle dodged them all, but Porphyrion stopped quite suddenly. He was holding out an enormous hand in front of him, and to their horror, the outlines of three Flying Mantas suddenly appeared out of thin air before him, materializing in an instant.

“Jeremy, can you see this?” Gabrielle called.

“Yes, Gabrielle, I can, get out of there now!” Jeremy said urgently.

“Wait, hold on. Wanna try it?” Leo asked Gabrielle.

She looked at him as if he'd gone mad. “Now?”

“Good a time as any, right?” he said, shrugging. She shrugged, smiled back, halted dead in the air, and said, “Fine, you steer, then.”

They switched places, and Leo set off again, though much less smoothly than Gabrielle. Behind him, she began to sing. She had always had a beautiful voice in the real world, and it seemed that had carried over to Lyoko as well. A few days ago, on one of their previous missions, they had discovered one of her hidden abilities, the power to take control of a sentient being that heard her voice as she sang, which Odd had dubbed “Siren Song.” It only worked on one at a time, and she was, as yet, unable to secure hold of any of her friends, so she instead directed her voice at the monsters they had just summoned rather than trying it on either of the Harbingers, which would surely fail.

Her voice swooped and trembled as she belted out magnificent notes, and a faint blue aura appeared around the Manta in the middle, thickening with each second that passed, until finally it was as bright and clear as the energy that composed Gabrielle’s blades. As Porphyrion made to leap atop his mount, the Manta wheeled around with a screech of fury; a laser burst from its stinger and shot at the giant, knocking him backwards in surprise.

Then the stolen Manta swooped away from its peers and came gliding towards them. The process now complete, Gabrielle stopped singing, and Leo hopped onto the Manta’s back, grinning at his sister as she resumed her place at the vehicle's helm.

Below them, Porphyrion let out a roar of fury. He charged both swords, and energy burst out in waves. Leo's newly acquired Manta wove around the strikes with an easy grace as Gabrielle pulled away. He charged his thunderbolt and fired, but again the giant deflected the blast. Gabrielle whipped by and ran her shell-blade across one of the remaining Manta’s backs, so that it exploded before the giant's very eyes. Altaea jumped atop the final mount and flew off, her enormous mace raised, glinting menacingly. Leo headed right for her, preparing another attack.

She dodged easily, the strike ripping past her as she moved, then she soared up beside him. Leo, however, did not have time to dodge. As she swung, he threw his hands in front of him and cried, “ _Aegis_!” and the golden halo that had suffused his form on one of their more recent trips appeared again; Leo, an avid fan of Greek mythology, had taken the name from the shield of Zeus, the King of the Gods, which he had granted to his daughter Athena, and which was said to be impenetrable: it had seemed quite fitting in context. Her mace bounced as harmlessly off of him as if she'd struck a stone wall.

He kicked his heel against his Manta’s side so that it wheeled around and fired a new laser. The attack shot between the giant's legs and hit the Manta, which exploded. Altaea fell heavily towards the ground, but landed quite easily, glaring up at him through those fierce green eyes.

Leo looked around and saw Porphyrion still chasing Gabrielle: one of his energy waves hit the Overboard point-blank and it vanished underneath her; Gabrielle went plummeting to the ground. Leo veered for her, but just as he swooped, the Manta stopped dead, so suddenly that Leo lost his footing and went bucking off. Altaea had frozen it in its tracks. He hit the ground hard, ending in a roll, and landed beside Gabrielle. The two giants were rushing towards them from behind, the triumphant siblings.

“Hurry!” Leo said. He jumped to his feet and the pair darted off, the Harbingers in hot pursuit. “You wouldn't happen to have any more hidden abilities, would you?” he asked her, slightly desperately.

She shook her head. “You?”

“Nope. Jeremy, any ideas?”

“No, sorry, guys. But Ulrich managed to get to the school in time, the others are on their way, you’ll have to try to hold out until they get here so I can send them over for backup.”

“Emphasis on _try_.” Leo and Gabrielle came to a halt and turned in unison. Leo raised his thunderbolt, and Gabrielle seized her shells; blades of bluish-green energy erupted from the pearls within. Leo fired, but Porphyrion blocked the charge yet again. Altaea darted past him and leapt out, her huge mace swinging downwards. Gabrielle and Leo jumped out of the way, and Gabrielle sprang up as the giant bore down upon her, meeting her massive attacks with quick swipes of her own.

Porphyrion now came swooping down upon Leo.

“ _Aegis_!” The monster tried to stab him, but the blade ricocheted off, and the giant stumbled. Taking advantage of the Harbinger's misstep, Leo turned the edge of his bronze cylinder towards him and a streak of lightning erupted from the shaft; it poured into the giant's face and the force pushed him backwards. He turned almost instantly, shooting another bolt at Gabrielle and Altaea, causing the pair to break apart.

Then Leo flung himself to the ground and slid forward on his back, using a move that Yumi and Ulrich had taught them; Gabrielle recognized the technique and jumped, landing on his outstretched feet, and Leo propelled her upwards. She zipped through the air and landed behind the giant, raking her shell-blades through Altaea’s back as she fell. The giant screeched in pain and fury as she recoiled, dropping her mace, and Leo attacked again —

Altaea exploded into a cloud of dust and disappeared with a grating wail.

“Well done, you two!” Jeremy yelled. Gabrielle looked up, beaming at her brother, but her face fell immediately.

“Leo!” she screamed, pointing. Leo looked around and saw Porphyrion approaching, moving so fast that he was a blur; a gleam of silver shot out, Leo felt something rip through his chest, and he vanished with a scream in a whirl of digital strips.

Porphyrion let out a cruel laugh, then looked down at Gabrielle, smiling wickedly. “You're next, girl.”

Before she could react, he swung downwards — at the same moment, a sudden whirring sound crossed the air; a glowing disk shot from behind Gabrielle and knocked the monster's sword from his hands; a second landed in his chest, causing him to stagger. Gabrielle whirled around and saw Yumi, her arms raised as she waited for her fans to return to her hands.

“Yumi!” she said in relief.

“You look like you could use a hand,” she said, smiling. Porphyrion rose behind them, his towering form trembling with rage — then the tip of an enormous, curved blade blossomed from his chest and he vanished, just as his sister had, in a haze of darkness. William stood behind him, chortling.

Out ahead of them, Aelita was still locked in battle. Though she had disposed of the first with ease, the two remaining Krabs were proving difficult.

“ _Laser Arrow_!” came a sudden shout from behind her, and the Krab stumbled, a chink of light shining from its shell from where the arrowhead had hit: it exploded. The second looked around for the source of this disturbance, but a streak of bright gold shot out from its left, cleaving off its legs so that it crumbled pathetically to the ground.

Mila came into view, beaming at her mentor as she recoiled her whip. Aelita smiled back, relieved.

“ _Energy Field_!” The pink sphere flew through the air, hit the Krab, and it exploded.

"The coast is clear, go on, Aelita!" Jeremy said.

"On my way!" She dashed past Odd and Mila and spread her arms wide as though to embrace the tower; a second later she had disappeared into the pillar, and within a few minutes the scarlet halo faded, replaced by one of a pale blue.

"Nice job, everyone," Jeremy said happily. "Get ready for a return trip."

"On your mark, Einstein," Odd said happily.

" _Return to the past, now_!"

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So about this new code, Jeremy," Aelita said, once they had adjusted to the abrupt return to that morning's breakfast.

"It was amazing," Mila said. "But how does it work, can you teleport any number of people, or only one at a time? Does it have to be undone manually or will it wear off eventually?"

"Well, when I was working on it, I was taking into account the levels of virtualization that exist in both my original program and the one that we found in the data stream. I didn't even consider looking at the regular virtualization program we use for the Scanners. The idea came to me earlier and I used it, to try to create a reverse-virtualization."

"Reverse?" Ulrich asked.

"Well, yes. When someone is virtualized onto Lyoko, their human body is basically broken down into digital pieces of information, transported through the Scanners' wires, and uploaded into the supercomputer, where they're rebuilt into a virtual form adapted to existence in a 3D plane. I tried to do the opposite, using the _towers_ to break down Ulrich's digital form and transporting the virtual information through the supercomputer's wires so that it would reform in the material world. The tricky part was tweaking the process so that the codes for his human DNA would be stored inside the activated tower, that way only his digital information could be processed, and when they were, he was reformed as a kind of specter, but compressed to be able to exist in the dimensions of our world.

"With his human information stored inside the tower, his existence became that of a permanent 'specter,' and he would exist that way on earth until his human information is reuploaded to the materialization process. Which is why I decided to call it 'Code Zero,' as the program effectively separates you from your human essence entirely, keeping you in a material, digital form, suspended in a kind of Zero Space. So, to ensure that there wouldn't be any problems, I've set up an automatic timer for this, of at least 25 minutes. It can work on any number of people, just like the scanners, but I don't feel too comfortable uploading information as vital as all of your human codes into one tower. We know exactly how sensitive XANA is when we try to touch his stuff."

"That's amazing, Einstein!" Odd said. "Now we can pay XANA back in full, fight specters and all his other monsters with the Lyoko Warriors' full potential!"

"Well, there's that too. But our main priority right now is the Thalassa Base. Now that the program is tested, we can explore any time now. And since we don't have any classes tomorrow —"

"Exploration again," Ulrich said happily.

His mood had taken a definite upturn since his battle against the Megatanks. Strangely, the risks of disappearing for good with only one hit had made the encounter all the more thrilling, and by the time the teleportation had worn off, he had forgotten all about the match, and his father's anger.

At the end of Science Class, however, the memories came swimming back to the forefront of his mind. But instead of dwelling on them, he pushed them firmly away. It was no use allowing himself to be engulfed by wistful fantasies; he had his own mission, and the footballers had theirs, so he spent most of the session shouting encouragement at them from the stands. They seemed to take his words to heart, and by the time they had finished, Odd, and most of the school, seemed to be on the verge of tears, for none of them had expected the complete turn-around that occurred halfway through the match, earning them their first win of the season.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, Yumi awoke feeling quite excited for the day's events. She remembered the feeling of anticipation that she had had during their exploration of Sector Five the previous year, and of their more recent expedition on Xanadu, but this feeling now, of investigating the Thalassa Base, transcended either. Perhaps it was because they already had a faint idea of what went on in the base, of virtualization test trials on humans and animals, that made her more eager to see what secrets the facility held in contrast to Carthage and Xanadu.

She rose, had a quick shower, pulled on her clothes, and went downstairs for breakfast. It was as she reached the dining room that she came to the dreadful realization that this day was not destined to go well — at least, not for her.

"Yumi, we need to talk to you."

Her parents were standing around the dining table, her father looking stern, her mother anxious. Takeo Ishiyama cast a very pointed look in the direction of the chair opposite his side of the table, and Yumi took the hint and sat down, waiting for the blow to fall.

In truth, she had been expecting something of the sort to happen for quite some time. Her parents had been strangely quiet on the matter for the past few days, and this made her very suspicious. Now she understood why. They had been biding their time, luring her into a false sense of security, so that they could spring the issue on her when she least expected it.

"You're not going out today," her father said.

This was not at all what she'd been expecting. "Huh? But —" she began, taken aback.

"No buts!" he said firmly. "This has gone on for far too long, Yumi. For months now we've been doing the same dance: your grades fluctuate, we ask you what the problem is, you lie to us, come home at any hour you please, refuse to tell us anything, and your mother and I are sick of it. This rogue behaviour of yours settled down for a while, and we thought whatever was going on with you was finally over, but now, all of a sudden, it's back, and you still refuse to tell us the cause! We've talked with you — _pleaded_ with you, more like — but still you remain obstinate.

"So be it. If you refuse to talk, then we won't ask anymore. You will tell us of your own volition, or you will be punished accordingly. Today, you will remain here and watch your baby brother. If Hiroki, or any of our neighbours — oh yes, they'll be watching," he added with satisfaction, as Yumi's mouth fell open. "And if any of them report that anything out of the ordinary happens here while your mother and I are at work, a simple grounding will be the least of your worries."

Yumi did not answer. She gave a hopeless, pleading sort of look to her mother, who looked unhappy but shook her head, and Yumi hung her head sadly.

"I'm glad we've sorted that out," said Takeo. "Goodbye, Yumi."

Her parents swept out of the room, said goodbye to Hiroki, and the door slammed shut behind them.

Back at Kadic, however, the others had risen for a very early breakfast. They were among the first to reach the lunchroom, and were on their way out by the time the other students arrived. They strode casually through the school, making light conversation to pass the time, then, when they were out of sight, they rushed off towards the secret passage concealed in the woods. Down in the sewers, they seized their skateboards and scooters and raced towards the opening at the opposite end of the tunnel.

They had arranged to meet Yumi at the factory, therefore they were quite surprised when they reached the Lab and found it deserted apart from themselves.

"Did Yumi get sidetracked or something?" William asked.

"Maybe she woke up late?" Mila suggested.

"I'm going to give her a call," said Jeremy, but he needn't have bothered. At that precise moment, Ulrich’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

He pulled it out and answered. "Hello?"

Yumi was on the other end, explaining in a simultaneously desperate and exasperated voice about the earlier confrontation with her parents, and her punishment for the day.

"Hiroki's not going to give me a break today, I only just managed to get away from the little creep to make this call, in fact. But it doesn't make any sense to put it off just for me, you guys go on, send me the details when you can," she concluded.

"All right, take care, Yumi," Ulrich said. "She can't make it today," he added to his friends when he'd hung up. "Her parents came down on her pretty hard, she's been grounded."

"Ah great, that's just what we needed, a man down before we'd even started," Odd grumbled.

"But she said to go on without her anyway," Ulrich said. "So we may as well."

"All right, you guys head for the Scanners, I'll start up the virtualization process," Jeremy said, taking his seat. They piled into the room below, and as the cabin doors slid open, William, Ulrich, and Mila entered.

"Transfer, William! Transfer, Ulrich! Transfer, Mila! Scanner, William! Scanner, Ulrich! Scanner, Mila! Virtualization!"

The trio materialized in midair above the parched, orange-brown ground of Lyoko’s Desert Sector, then landed lightly below. They could see a tower some fifty feet ahead of them, with bundles of thick, semi-transparent wires snaking their way towards it across the plateau, rising and falling below the platform.

"Virtualization!"

At the sound of Jeremy’s voice they looked around, and Odd, Gabrielle, and Leo fell to the ground with them. A few moments later, Aelita joined them.

"Great, you're all there now," Jeremy said. "Aelita, Ulrich, Gabrielle, head for the tower. William, Leo, Mila, Odd, you stay behind and stand guard."

"No problem, Jeremy," William said as they all hurried over to it.

"Good luck, you three," Mila said, as Aelita, Ulrich, and Gabrielle entered the tower.

"Hang on now while I activate the tower for our use. Just give me a moment."

Within a few seconds, the tower's pale blue halo changed to bright green.

"Okay, get into position on the platform. Here we go . . . _Code Zero_."

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Aelita, Gabrielle, Ulrich? Can you hear me?"

"Yes, Jeremy," Aelita’s voice replied promptly over the comms. "It worked, we're all here."

"Great, now can you tell me exactly where 'here' is? Are you in the forest, near the lake?"

Aelita looked around. Towering stretches of trees rose out of the moss-covered earth around them, brushing the sky, their sun-dappled leaves casting wide basins of cool shade upon the ground below. Directly ahead of them, through a space between two slender tree trunks, they could see a large body of water, the roiling icy-blue sheets glittering in the mid-morning sun.

"Yes, we can see it, Jeremy," Aelita said excitedly.

"That's your target. If I'm correct, the Thalassa Base is hidden somewhere under that lake. Hurry, you've only got twenty-three minutes left."

The trio hurried towards the lake, stepping over large, moss-covered roots as they ran. A cool breeze swept through the woods, ruffling the surface of the water. They approached the edge and stared at the glistening surface, as though they might see a hint of the Thalassa Base peeking up at them from underneath the water.

"If it _is_ underwater, how exactly are we supposed to reach it?" Gabrielle asked.

"Are there any towns nearby, Jeremy?" Ulrich asked. "Maybe I could superspeed into a store, grab some snorkeling gear?"

"Even if any store nearby did stock equipment like that, what do you think the owner's going to say when you suddenly show up there dressed like you are?" Aelita said.

"Okay, okay, it was just an idea," Ulrich said, waving his hand impatiently. "I don't see anybody else coming up with any of those."

"Any chance we could just swim down, Jeremy?" Gabrielle said.

"No, I wouldn't advise it. We don't know how deep the lake is, or where exactly the Base is situated."

"Well, there has to be _some_ way to reach it," she said exasperatedly. "The scientists had to get there somehow."

"I agree. Try to look around on the land first. Maybe there's some kind of clue there. In the meantime, I'll go back to the diary I downloaded from the data stream and see if there's anything I missed that could help now."

"Roger," Ulrich said.

Jeremy pulled up the journal with a few quick clicks, then began to browse swiftly through its contents in the hope that some form of entry into the base would reveal itself on the pages. He had just reached the dreadful imagery of the young girl strapped to the bed beneath a bright strobing light, when a window popped open on the screen and several crimson dots appeared, closing in on the position of his friends that had remained behind on Lyoko.

"Uh oh." He reopened the communication window and addressed Odd. "Odd, company approaching at 11:00. No doubt XANA's gotten wind of what we're trying to do. You've got to keep the monsters away from the tower long enough for Aelita, Gabrielle, and Ulrich to get into the Base."

"No problem, Einstein!" Odd said brightly. "We were getting kind of bored anyway; how 'bout a couple of taxis?"

"Already on the way," said Jeremy, tapping the enter key as the vehicles loaded completely.

The Overrose, Overbike, Overwing, and Overboard all appeared before each of them, and Odd, Mila, Leo, and William leapt atop each mount and sped off towards the advancing enemies. Orion was in front, flanked by a large swarm of hornets.

"You guys take care of the hornets, I'll handle the Harbinger," Odd said.

"You got it, boss," Leo said. He, Mila, and William veered leftwards, and the hornets followed, while Odd continued forward.

"Missed you last time!" Odd called tauntingly over his shoulder as he soared past Orion. "What happened? Couldn't get out of bed? Missed the XANA-express on your way here?"

Orion wheeled around and hissed — a thick, steaming jet of dark green fluid erupted from his snout and whizzed through the air. Odd veered upwards, letting the acid fly beneath him; it splattered against a large boulder protruding from the ground ahead of them, melting it down to a bubbling, frothing, white puddle in mere seconds.

"Woah!" Odd said. "You pick up some new tricks while you were off?" He spun around on the Overboard and plunged towards the Harbinger: arrows burst from his knuckles and streaked towards him, but Orion flung out an arm, smacking the arrowheads away with the metallic scales lining his skin. His huge tail whipped out, crashed against the ground, and he seemed to push down on it, launching himself upwards. He flew through the air before Odd could maneuver out of the way and tackled him off the Overboard. Odd managed to wriggle out of the Harbinger's vice-like grip as they tumbled to the floor and he rolled towards the side. Orion hoisted himself up on all fours like a dog, looking up at Odd with a menacing glint in his eyes, his forked tongue writhing around outside his head, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from his jagged teeth.

He lunged.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aelita and Gabrielle walked slowly and deliberately around their circle of woods, keeping their eyes trained on the ground for anything unusual that could possibly help them in their aim of gaining entry into the Thalassa Base. They found nothing out of the ordinary, however, besides a strange-looking tree that Aelita spent a short time examining, with an unusually smooth-barked trunk. Ulrich, who had left a few minutes earlier to do a wider sweep of the forest, now came hurtling back into their midst, stirring up fallen leaves in a fierce updraft as he came to a halt.

"Still nothing," he said hopelessly. "Jeremy, how much time do we have left?"

"Sixteen minutes," said Jeremy. "So you guys had better hurry."

"Well, you could give us a hand, you know!"

"What do you think I've been doing?" Jeremy said indignantly. "I've just pulled up satellite imagery of your area, reran through the entire journal, and even tried to find a floor plan of the Thalassa Base on the internet, but I still haven't found anything. The Base seems to have been an extremely well-kept secret, even more so than the ones we found XANA's older, infected supercomputers at last year."

Ulrich grunted. "There must be something we can do."

"Time's running out," Gabrielle said, "we don't have a choice. We'll just have to take our chances and dive. I'll go and —"

"No," Aelita said. "I'll do it. My wings will help me more underwater."

"Be careful, then, Aelita," Jeremy said.

She approached the water's edge, looking fearfully down at the surface. Ulrich could tell that she was trying to be brave; he gave her an encouraging smile, which she returned fleetingly, then turned around and ran her hand across the star-shaped band laced around her wrist: at once, the familiar pair of glowing wings sprouted from her back, curved, pink, and fluffy, though less defined than they were on Lyoko, with shorter, thinner spines. They flapped gently and she rose a few feet above ground, then, after a second's hesitation, in which she filled her lungs to their highest extent with pine-scented air, she dove.

They watched the bright pink glare of her wings grow fainter as she went deeper, the water rippling where she had leapt. By the time it settled, she had disappeared into the lake's depths.

"This is excruciating," Gabrielle said, a few seconds later. "To think we're literally right at the edge, and can't move forward at all."

"Tell me about it," Ulrich said. "Let's just hope she finds something."

Beneath the water, Aelita’s wings were swirling around her, pushing water gracefully aside as she bounded through the deep. She had been anxious at first to enter, despite it being her suggestion, remembering the bad experiences that she had had with water, both real and virtual. Once before, after being bombarded by a series of flashes of memory from her old life, she'd tumbled right into the school swimming pool, where she lost consciousness and nearly drowned, and never could she forget the day that William, possessed by XANA, had thrown her squarely into the Digital Sea, forcing her father out of hiding so that he could —

Her thoughts were interrupted as a large, dark shape suddenly came into view below her. As she pressed downwards, the shape became more clearly defined. From a distance of around 70 feet, she could see that it was some kind of octagonally shaped tunnel, comprised of glass and metal, that twisted and wound through the deep beneath the forest shore, leading straight down to what she knew to be the Thalassa Base, an elaborate stretch of building nestled on a flattish square of land, which was encircled by a brilliantly glowing electric fence.

Excitement flooded through her; though her chest felt as though it was going to burst open at any moment, she endured several seconds' more agony and looked around, then bolted back to the surface, following the trail of the tunnel right up to the land's edge. She broke through the surface, startling Gabrielle and Ulrich, and collapsed on the bank, taking a great gasp of breath.

"You okay, Princess?" Ulrich said. "We were starting to get worried."

"Yes, I've found it," Aelita panted.

"Really?" Gabrille helped her up, waiting avidly as she took heaving breaths to steady herself.

"There's a kind of lift, a hydro-loop, that takes you down to the base," she said finally.

"How do we get to it?" Ulrich asked.

Aelita looked around, then found the same tree that she had examined earlier, with the strange patch of bark. Suddenly, it all became clear. She moved over to it, ran her hand across the unnaturally smooth trunk, and found a sort of groove. She pressed her finger into the crook, seized the bark, and pulled — and an electronic panel appeared in the space where it had been taken from, much like the ones that had been used in XANA's facilities.

"How did you know that was there?" Ulrich asked, amazed.

"Just guessed," Aelita said, shrugging.

"Well, it's great that we found it, but now we need a password," Gabrielle said.

"No we don't." Aelita held her palm above the panel and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. It was rather difficult now, with the memory of her father as fresh and sharp in her mind as a knife wound, but she persevered, and a moment later was rewarded by a gentle beep of approval and a flash of green light. A rushing sound broke the silence, and the huge boulder on their right split apart smoothly, revealing an elaborate interior, like a kind of elevator.

"Nice one, Aelita," Jeremy said. "Now get going, all of you."

They hurried into the elevator. The walls of the boulder slid shut, and they began to sink slowly out of sight, the lift darkening all the while, until at last they were surrounded by a deep, velvety blueness, and began to shoot down an immense glass chute, turning sharply every now and then and zipping along as though they were in some kind of bizarre rollercoaster.

The Thalassa Base loomed out of the darkness, and the chute sent them rocketing downwards, past the electric fence, and towards a closed hatch, which slid open as they approached.

They dashed out of the lift and into the base, and they looked around. It was not at all as Aelita had imagined it to be. She had expected layers of dust, scattered sheafs of parchment, broken glass, anything to show the telltale signs of abandonment. The Base, however, was perfectly immaculate. The white-tiled floor was so clean it practically shone, the long counters dust-free, with the equipment they held neatly organized.

Behind her, Ulrich drew his swords. "Something’s not right here," he murmured.

"Yeah, this isn't what you'd expect from a place that's been abandoned for years, is it? It looks like somebody's been in here, very recently," Gabrielle said.

"You've only got ten minutes left, guys," Jeremy said. "Go on, but be very careful."

Quickly and quietly, they edged through the rooms. They were all in the same meticulous order as the others, but still no one else came into view. They filed along a long corridor and as the door opened, they emerged into a room filled with a huge supercomputer station. They glanced around swiftly to see whether anyone was inside, then Aelita hurried over to the hardware.

Ulrich and Gabrielle kept watch while she worked, typing away relentlessly.

"Ah, I found something," she said a few moments later. "You were right, Jeremy, this place _was_ working on virtualization trials. I found an archive of the test records. They tried a range of subjects — animals, adults, children, and — oh . . . None of them were successful."

"You mean they. . . ?" Gabrielle did not finish the sentence, but she did not need to. Aelita looked around at her and nodded.

"It happened during the trials. Their bodies were broken down during digitalization, but the process was incomplete, so they were never reformed the way we're supposed to on Lyoko. They're just . . . gone."

"That's horrible," Gabrielle breathed.

Jeremy quite agreed, but at the moment, no matter how cold it seemed, they didn't have the time to worry about old deaths. "Aelita, try to find out what you can about Project New Olympus, hurry."

She shook her head, snapping out of her reverie, and set to work. "On it. . . ."

"I don't like this place," Ulrich said abruptly. "It's too quiet; why haven't we seen anyone yet?"

"Shouldn't we count that as a good thing?" Gabrielle asked.

"In a perfect world, maybe. You stay here and keep watch, Gabrielle. I'll keep looking."

Keeping a firm grasp on the hilts of his sabers, he set off through the long corridors once more.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leo sped through the air, gliding over the dusty, parched-looking Desert ground. Two hornets were tailing him, firing relentlessly. Lasers shot past him on all sides, accompanied by occasional jets of poison. Narrowly avoiding a pool of the bubbling fluid, he wheeled around and fired a blast of lightning. It connected with a hornet, exploding it, but the second returned fire at once: the laser crashed into his shoulder, making him almost drop the thunderbolt.

Directly ahead of him, Mila came into view, two hornets following closely. She glanced around at either side, then halted in midair, so suddenly it was as though she had been stopped dead by Altaea’s ability, and the two surprised hornets zoomed past her before they could react. She seized her whip and unfurled it with a resounding crack; it shot out in an arc of brilliant gold, cleaving through both hornets, and they burst apart. Leo realized he had been stationary in the air, watching her, for too long. His own hornet was swooping down on him again.

" _Aegis_!" he cried, and as the golden aura appeared around him again, the laser rebounded, struck the hornet's mark, and it exploded.

He turned and joined Mila, and they both sped off towards William, who was gliding along on the Overwing with a smirk on his face as he fought his own hornets. The two monsters pressed closer on his left and right, and William tilted the Overwing so that he leaned sideways, holding onto the handle with one hand. With the other, he grasped the hilt of his sword and swung, running the huge blade through the two beasts. As they erupted into sparks he grabbed the handle of his vehicle again and, spotting Leo and Mila, made his way alongside them over to Odd and Orion. As they moved, they heard a sudden rumbling sound and looked around.

A Megatank was approaching from behind. Even as it rolled towards them, it pried itself apart, charging energy into its belt; a wall of energy expelled outwards from its center, slamming into the Overwing, the largest of the three vehicles. As William plummeted to the ground, another wall of energy skimmed across the sandy floor and crashed into him, devirtualizing him in an instant.

The Megatank now turned its attention upon Leo. He fixed himself into a standing position on the Overbike and leapt aside as the Overbike was consumed by the Megatank’s blast.

Mila dove towards the monster, lashing out with her whip, but the Megatank’s metallic shell closed around it, and the whip bounced off in a shower of sparks. The shell opened abruptly, and as Mila tried to veer away, the creature fired again: the huge mass of energy smashed into her from behind and she disappeared along with the Overrose. Leo dodged the next strike, rolling to the side. As he sprang up, he held his thunderbolt aloft and took aim at the monster. They fired at the same time, the bolt of lightning swirling past the enormous wall of bright orange energy — both blasts connected with their targets, and both vanished simultaneously.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ulrich continued to drift silently through the base, half-expecting to see rooms full of cybernetic animals, or stationary robots, or even tiny deathballs of the variety that Odd had described. Most surprisingly, however, every room he passed was still empty. He could smell the lingering scent of certain chemicals, but they were weak, old.

He turned around a corner, debating with himself whether he should just return to Aelita and Gabrielle, when he saw something that seemed to make his heart fail: a massive hole had been made into the wall before him, as though the Kolossus had thrust his fist through it, and the stretch of shining metal around it had been singed black. In the room beyond the hole, he could see the wreckage of what looked like some kind of generator. It seemed to have exploded long ago.

 _Guess that explains why we haven't seen anyone_ , Ulrich thought, stowing his blades at last. It was not hard to imagine, the workers getting the warning of a potential disaster, rushing to this place trying to find out what had happened, to restore order, and then vaporizing when they realized that they couldn't. Still, it struck him as odd that he could see the remains of the machinery, but not of any humans.

" _Super Sprint_!" Satisfied, but not entirely reassured, he whirled around and darted back towards the computer room. However, the atmosphere there was just as grim as the place he had just left behind. The two girls were staring, horrified, at the screen, where it seemed they had been watching a video.

"Something the matter?"

"It's awful," Aelita whispered, shaking her head, but she pressed the 'play' button regardless.

Ulrich moved closer and saw what was obviously footage from the video cameras. People clad in white lab coats were piling up in what he recognized as the same room he had just moved away from. They were panicked — no, _terrified_. Their voices jumbled together as they dashed around in blind fear, as a high-pitched whirring got steadily louder in the background. Multicoloured lights were spilling from the room, washing over the walls outside. The whirring reached a pitch, then, quite distinctly, he heard a man cry, " _It's too late, it can't be shut down, run_ —"

And the room exploded. A surge of prismatic light filled the corridor, the hall beyond, and when the iridescent flare had died down, all the men had vanished.

There was a stunned silence, then Jeremy said tentatively, "Aelita, I . . . Time is almost up, can you send me the records?"

"Right, here they come," she said quietly.

The records were transmitted quite fast, so that by the time the teleportation had worn off, and they had returned to the tower, they had cleared all processes and returned the equipment to normal.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Odd, the others are back inside the tower, I'm ready to bring you all back in, so make it fast!"

"Just — have — to take care of this — first!" Odd panted, as he dodged around yet more flying plumes of acid. He raced across the Desert on all fours, then jumped atop a nearby boulder, crawling towards the top, sinking his claws into the stone as he moved upwards. As he reached the peak, he turned to face Orion and jumped, shouting, " _Laser Arrow_!"

Arrows erupted from the marks atop his knuckles, whistling through the air, but Orion opened his mouth, and a ball of smoke bloomed from his snout, solidifying into numerous fragments; arrows and scales whipped all across the battlefield. Orion threw up his arms to block the hail of arrows, and Odd summoned his violet barrier. But just as it had happened their first time in the Swamp, the shield shattered beneath the blows, the scales crashed into Odd, and he devirtualized at once.

Orion rose to his feet, his wide mouth stretched in a wicked smile.

"Materialization," Jeremy said, launching the program.

Ulrich, Aelita, and Gabrielle returned to the scanners, and as the tower's emerald halo reverted to an icy blue, Orion turned to face it, snarling. " _No_."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That was a close one," Odd said, as they filed out of the elevator into the Lab. "At least tell me you managed to get something good before we all went down?"

"I did," Jeremy said. "According to the data Aelita sent me from the Thalassa Base supercomputer, 'Project New Olympus' referred to the scientists' mission to create a virtual world of their own called New Olympus."

"Not for the pleasure of simply doing it, I imagine?" Leo said.

Jeremy shook his head. "It seems they were working with an unknown client in order to create a virtualization process that would transport people to New Olympus and back, with their newfound capabilities on the virtual world carried over to earth."

"So they wanted to create their own army of supersoldiers?" Gabrielle asked.

"Exactly. Unfortunately for them, something went wrong one day. How, I don't know yet, but the generator projecting New Olympus exploded and released a wave of virtual energy. It passed through the entire base, and it seems that everyone that it touched was virtualized."

"But if the generator was destroyed —" Mila began, looking horrified.

"That's right," Jeremy said, nodding. "New Olympus was destroyed too, and everyone in the base along with it."

"But why would whoever created the data stream go through all that trouble just to make us know that everyone died?" Ulrich asked, frowning.

"And why would XANA feel threatened by this information?" Aelita added.

"I don't know," Jeremy said. "It feels like that's all we can really say nowadays, isn't it? All these unanswered questions. . . ."

"We'll just have to hope we get some answers soon," William said. "But in the meantime, how about we grab some lunch, I'm starving."

"Seconded," Odd said.

Jeremy took one last look at the computer, the archives that Aelita had sent him, and sighed. "Yeah, I could use some food too."

As they slouched out of the factory minutes later, and climbed back down into the sewers, a girl with long black hair poked her head from around the base of one of the bridge's columns and, after checking to ensure that she could no longer hear any voices, she hurried down to the elevator.

As the lift doors closed, taking her downwards, she smirked in a self-satisfied way. "This time, for sure," Sissi said.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a late update. It is becoming increasingly more demanding to write at this point, especially Resurgence, but I'll get more chapters out as soon as possible. For now, here are three!

Sissi was not usually one to wake up early on a Saturday. After a stressful week, it always did well to sleep in on the weekends, in order to maintain some semblance of sanity. Today, however, she rose feeling quite well-rested, and decided to head down for an early breakfast. When she had finished showering, she pulled on her clothes, brushed her hair, and headed down to the lunchroom. It was as she sauntered towards the cafeteria, hands behind her back and humming, that she saw them: Jeremy, Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd, accompanied, as was usual recently, by William Dunbar, Leo and Gabrielle Corentin, and Mila Summers.

They were walking along quite casually, though with an air of avid anticipation, and Sissi watched them all the while they moved, eyes narrowed in suspicion. In truth, she had been watching them for quite some time. The odd, secretive behaviours and mysterious disappearances of certain group members at a time, the sudden swelling of their ranks, and general suspicious atmosphere, drew her eyes towards them like an enormous, invisible magnet.

It was the same as the previous year, except that they had changed, acted more normal, for the past few months. Now, it was clear that whatever had caused their peculiar attitude was back again.

She saw them approach the border of the woods near the front of the school, and with only a split second's warning, she dove around a corner as they looked around. A few seconds passed, then she shot a furtive glance around the wall, and saw that they were gone.

Her eyes narrowed, her mind racing. Coming to a decision, she opted to ignore her rumbling stomach and followed them. She moved quickly but casually through the thin crowd of students that were now streaming through the schoolyard, slipped into the trees without anyone noticing, and dashed off into the forest. If she hurried, maybe she could catch them, figure out what they were up to at last. . . .

She reached a clearing in the woods, expecting to see them all bundled up around the trees, doing what she could not yet imagine, and found the dark-haired Mila being lowered into a manhole that obviously led to the sewers below, judging by the acrid smell wafting up through the opening. The manhole cover was pulled back over the hole; Sissi waited a short while again, and despite her disgust, gently removed the cover, climbed down into the sewers, and began to walk along the dimly lit passage. She could hear the whizz of wheels on concrete as the group up ahead raced through the tunnels, and understood as she saw a spare skateboard leaning against the wall.

For a moment she wondered why it was there. Then she remembered: she had not seen Yumi with them. Feeling a rush of satisfaction that had nothing to do with the prospect of finally uncovering their secret, she seized the skateboard and set off down the tunnel, her reflection rippling across the murky green water as she glided along. She reached the end of the tunnel a few minutes later, looking up at another set of bars that led to an opening above. She could hear voices overhead.

When they had faded, she climbed up, slid open the hatch, peered around carefully, then emerged onto a great stone bridge that led towards the desolate old factory that she knew by reputation but had never been to. She moved forward. The voices were coming from below now.

Creeping to the edge, she glanced down just in time to see a familiar spiky blond mane disappearing into an elevator. It was Odd.

But what were Jeremy and his gang doing in the old abandoned factory?

Her stomach rumbled as she contemplated, trying to imagine what attractions the decrepit building could hold that had appealed to them, and she automatically clutched it as though trying to silence it in fear of giving away her location. She needed breakfast. She was thinking quickly: it would look quite odd for her to show up out of nowhere in the middle of all this, but the urge to know was overwhelming. On the other hand, she had a sneaking feeling that if she just waited a little longer, she would be able to snoop around as she pleased without them being any the wiser; they had to come out eventually.

She pulled away from the edge and hurried back to the lunchroom, carefully replacing Yumi's skateboard and the manhole cover on the way. She arrived just in time to see most of the students leaving, Nicolas and Herb among them. "Hey, Sissi, how come you were so late?"

But she ignored Herb, hurrying past him towards Rosa, where she was forced to accept, of the trifle remains, a pathetically scanty meal of a spoon of potatoes, two slices of toast, a sprinkle of meatballs, and a cup of plain water. Making a mental note never to arrive late for meals again if she could help it, she wolfed down her pitiful breakfast, looking around for any sign of Odd, Ulrich, Jeremy, or that stuck-up Aelita. Unfortunately, none of them came. When Sissi had finished, her stomach only slightly appeased by the small offering of sustenance, she darted up to the dorms to check whether they were in Jeremy’s room — evidently their favourite gathering place — and when she found that it was empty, she began to forge through the forest again, moving cautiously through the tunnels underneath in case they decided to show up now.

She heard their voices the moment she climbed onto the bridge: they were coming now, and she was in plain view!

Sissi wasn't scared of them by any means, but it would still be a difficult situation to explain herself out of, and she wanted to explore their secret unhampered. Almost instinctively, she dove behind one of the bridge's supporting columns, knowing that it wasn't an ideal hiding place, but hoping that, in the moment, it would be good enough.

And as much to her surprise as to her relief, it was. They streamed into the sewers below, completely oblivious to her presence. When once again she could no longer hear their voices, she emerged from behind the pillar, ran to the edge of the bridge, and swung down towards the rickety old elevator she had seen them descend earlier.

She tapped the button and entered the lift, a smile curling her lips. "This time, for sure," she said triumphantly.

The lift took her down one level, and opened onto what could only be a scene taken straight out of a science fiction movie pasted forcibly into this section of reality. It was large, illuminated by an ambient, silvery-grey light reflected from the gleaming floors. An enormous, circular platform stood near the center of the room, beside which a vast, highly advanced computer extended from the ceiling, with huge bundles of wires streaming from below the floor into the computer's mainframe.

" _Wooow_!" Sissi moved forward into the room, gaping around. She approached the great computer, sliding her fingers across the spinning chair positioned in front of it. "So this is their secret," she muttered. Then she frowned, a little disappointed now. Was that all?

Sure, the discovery of the computer and laboratory was one thing, but she had been expecting something much grander. She had half a mind to leave, confront them now, but then it occurred to her that she still didn't know what it was that they did down here. It seemed unlikely, anyway, that they used such a powerful-looking computer to do something as mundane as schoolwork or play video games. There had to be something more. . . .

Sissi sank clumsily into the seat and turned it to face the keyboard. The high-level technology intimidated her at first, warning her not to meddle with what she did not understand. But she ignored it. She leaned forward and, because it felt the natural thing to do, tapped the enter key. The supercomputer had been snoozing, but at her touch, it started up.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I just can't wrap my head around it," said Jeremy. "What could have possibly made XANA feel this threatened by the Thalassa Base?"

He was sitting around his desktop, analyzing the data that Aelita had sent over from the Base, with the others hovering around the room behind him: Odd had gone off to his and Ulrich’s room to check on Kiwi, and Yumi was listening in on the phone, Jeremy having called to explain to her exactly what had happened the moment he reached the privacy of his dorm.

"Maybe XANA was trying to stop you from getting that new energization program," she suggested, "because he didn't want us to be able to track him on earth anymore?"

"Possible, but not very likely," Jeremy said. "I still feel like there's something we're missing, something big . . ."

"It could be the person who created the data stream in the first place," Aelita suggested. "Maybe XANA's scared of them, scared of what could happen if they get in direct contact with us? It would be warranted, seeing that you've managed to create Code Zero just by using an unfinished template they sent you."

"That unknown being definitely has something to do with it all right. But the question still remains — _who is it_? Because there's only one person I can think of who XANA would fear this much." He exchanged grim looks with Aelita.

A deeply uncomfortable silence descended over them, broken only by the reappearance of Odd, who was clutching his tiny dog in one arm.

"You don't mind, do you, Jeremy? He was a little lonely, so I thought I'd bring him over here for a bit. Oh, that's right, you've never been formally introduced," he added, looking around at the recruits. "William, Mila, Leo, Gabrielle, this is Kiwi. Kiwi, these are —"

But Kiwi suddenly growled.

"Huh? Something the matter, Kiwi?"

Kiwi growled again, his eyes fixed menacingly on Leo. Then he began to bark furiously.

"Kiwi, cut that out!" said Odd. But Kiwi leapt out of his arms and dove at Leo, who jumped out of the way as the tiny dog snapped at his heel, landing on Jeremy's bed.

"What's going on?" Ulrich demanded, leaping up at once. Kiwi was still barking madly, trying to get to Leo around Odd, but seeing that Odd would not budge, he set his sights on Gabrielle instead. He lunged at her, his teeth bared. William pushed her aside and grabbed Kiwi around the middle to restrain him. Odd scooped the thrashing, howling dog out of William's arms, yelling, "That's enough, Kiwi!" and sped out of the room.

A stunned silence fell again. Uneasy looks were exchanged throughout the room: Kiwi had never tried to attack someone like this before. Yumi, who was still on the phone, demanded an explanation for the sudden excitement. She, like everyone else, was shocked when Ulrich informed her of Kiwi's unexpected fit.

Odd returned, panting. "I'm sorry!" he choked, clutching his heaving chest. "I can't believe it — Kiwi's _never_ acted like this before!"

But that wasn't entirely true. Ulrich suddenly remembered that Kiwi had behaved in a similar manner towards Yumi, when she and Odd had accidentally switched bodies: the whole encounter stood out quite vividly in his mind. Though Kiwi had not been this aggressive at that point.

"It's fine," Leo said, stepping off the bed and trying to grin. "Most dogs don't like me anyway."

"But what about Gabrielle?" Aelita asked.

Before anyone could answer, there was a knock on the door. Odd’s heart sank. He could just imagine Jim on the other side, livid, attracted by the sound of Kiwi's resounding yelps. He opened the door tentatively, but it wasn't Jim who stood there. It was Sissi.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You followed us?" Ulrich said furiously, breaking the shocked silence that had fallen among them yet again when Sissi had explained her reasons for stopping by.

"Priorities, Ulrich, dear," Sissi said. "The fact of the matter is that I know all about Loco now —"

" _Lyoko_ ," William corrected impatiently.

"— and unless you accept me into your group and explain everything to me in detail, I'll be having a nice little chat with my father about the supercomputer hidden in that dusty old factory."

This was too much, on top of everything else. First there was the unsolved mystery of their anonymous contact, XANA's connection to the Thalassa Base, and the horrors they had uncovered about part of its history, then Kiwi went rabid, and now this to cap it all. Jeremy raised a hand to the side of his head, which was now throbbing.

"You're even worse than I thought," William said scathingly. "I told you we should have been more careful with her," he added to the group at large.

"It'll be fine," Aelita said. "A quick return to the past should take care of this —"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, if I were you, Mrs. Einstein," piped up Sissi. "Unfortunately for you, that won't work on me anymore. I already recorded a digital image of myself in the supercomputer, so I'll be completely unaffected by your little rewinds from now on."

"You what?" Odd gasped.

"She can't have!" Jeremy said wildly, though the throbbing was becoming more painful. "She — even _you guys_ could barely use the supercomputer until recently — she's lying —"

"You're right, Jeremy," Sissi interjected, with a smug smile. "I couldn't have possibly done it on my own before that, but after _reading your diary_. . . . It wasn't that hard either, even a monkey could do it. Just a few clicks was all it took, no computer programming degree necessary, everyone knows the basics. This time, there'll be no rewinding time, no erasing anyone's memory."

"You're bluffing," Gabrielle said fiercely.

"Oh, am I?" Sissi said, and she dialed a number on her phone. "Herb?"

"Hi, Sissi!" Herb's voice sounded excitedly on the other end.

"Yes, are you and Nicolas still in place?"

"Yeah, we're ready to call your dad at any time, just say when."

"Good. Keep standing by." She hung up, smiling around at everyone in the room, and they gaped back at her, flabbergasted. "If you don't meet my demands, Nicolas and Herb will tell my father _everything_ , and they'll be there in minutes to uncover all your little secrets."

Jeremy, Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita exchanged looks with William, Gabrielle, Mila, and Leo. Even Yumi, still listening in on the phone, had her hand clamped to her mouth, aghast.

"You know, if you wanted so badly into our group, there was another way to ask," Ulrich said, and now he sounded disappointed, rather than angry. "All those months of 'friendship' and then you go and do something like this." He shook his head. "You never changed, did you? You're the same as ever: just — awful."

An expression of shock and anguish fleetingly overtook Sissi’s face. She looked as though she was going to speak, but was forestalled by a loud beeping noise from the desktop computer.

Jeremy spun around in his seat, pushing his glasses more securely on his face, glad of a distraction.

"XANA?" Odd asked, moving closer.

"No . . . a message from the web," Jeremy said.

"Really?" Aelita said, hope and eagerness alike bubbling within her. "Who is it from?"

"Anonymous," said Jeremy, and the bubble of hope that had blossomed inside her promptly burst. "And it's restricted, I can't crack it from here, we'll have to go the factory."

They all turned to look at Sissi. "Well?" Jeremy said impatiently. "Are you coming, or not?"

"Um . . ."

But they did not wait for an answer. One by one they filed past her, casting her disgusted looks as they went. Dejected as she felt, she hurried out behind them nonetheless. They kept their ears trained for any sound of Jim approaching, but his enormous figure did not appear anywhere near them as they ran through the schoolyard, and within twenty minutes they were exiting the elevator and huddling in the Lab.

"I thought you said Nicolas and Herb were here," Mila said suspiciously, looking around at the apparently empty room.

"Erm . . . they must've left," Sissi said nervously.

"What, you mean, you didn't scan them, too?" Leo said, glowering at her.

Jeremy took his seat and began to work, typing in various security keys to try to crack the code. Sissi remained on one side of the room, and everyone else on the other, no one speaking.

"Any luck?" Aelita said five minutes later.

"Almost there." Then, after another interval of five minutes, "There we go!"

They piled around the supercomputer, Sissi hanging back tentatively. The monitor displayed a series of coordinates: 19°W, 79°N, DS. Beside this was the current date, and the time, 3:45, 13 minutes from now.

"What is it?" Mila said.

"It's a meeting request. Look, the coordinates: '19°W, 79°N, DS.' _DS_ — _Desert Sector_. Whoever sent this wants us to join them at these coordinates in the Desert thirteen minutes from now."

"Do you think it could be the same person that created the data stream?" William said eagerly.

"I think so. They're trying to get us on Lyoko, no doubt for protection from XANA. Hurry down to the Scanner Room, all of you, that way you should be able to get there before XANA gets wind of the plan. We'll finally be able to meet this mysterious benefactor."

"All — all of us?" Sissi said nervously.

"Yes, Sissi, _all_ of you. You said you know all about Lyoko now, meaning you know what we do here. Battling deadly monsters on and off Lyoko, fighting to keep the world from being destroyed, a constant, never-ending cycle of danger and violence. That's what you signed up for, isn't it?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

Sissi let out a squeak of fright, but then hastily cleared her throat, trying to compose herself. "Well — um — in that case, uh, I think I'd be more use here, keeping you safe in case — er — XANA sends over a new monster."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and spun back towards the keyboard. "Hurry, you guys."

Everyone else rushed to the scanners, leaving Sissi alone with Jeremy. Jeremy virtualized them all with eight minutes left on the clock, then directed them towards the rendezvous spot.

"The place that you're looking for is directly ahead of you, near that tower."

"Here we go," Odd said.

They sprinted towards the indicated quadrant fifty feet away, from which a tower sprouted nearby, like a great flag pole.

"So what, is he inside the tower?" Ulrich asked, a few minutes later.

"We'll find out soon," Jeremy told him. "15 — 14 — 13 . . ."

They kept their eyes on the tower, waiting raptly.

". . . 7 — 6 — 5 —"

Any second now.

" — 2 — 1 —"

As though on cue, the tower's light blue halo changed colour, now glowing bright purple.

"The tower just registered as activated on the screens. What's going on on your end?"

"Nothing," Odd said. "We can't see any — oh. What's _that_?" A bright yellow sphere had just blossomed into being beside him, about the size of a baseball, hovering at shoulder-height above ground.

"What? What's happening over there?"

"There's some kind of symbol on it," Aelita said, gazing at the orb in awe.

Leo recognized the image, a cross-like structure with a loop on the topmost plank instead of the usual straight line. "It's an ankh, from Egyptian legend," he said, and when they all turned to look at him curiously he added defensively, "What, I like studying different mythologies."

"Ah, so that's why you're dressed up as a Greek god," Mila said, with a sly smile. "I wondered."

"But what does that mean for this?" William asked, pointing at the orb. It simply hovered there, indifferent, stationary.

"I don't know, the ankh is said to be the key of life in Egyptian Mythology, but that doesn't explain — AAARRGGGH!"

A wave of energy had just flown out of nowhere and crashed into Leo, devirtualizing him in an instant. They all gasped, then looked around.

"Jeremy, Porphyrion is here!" Aelita said urgently.

"What?"

The colossal, golden, metallic-looking Harbinger was striding casually towards them, his huge blades clasped in his massive hands.

"Couldn't have told me that a second before?" Leo muttered bitterly, clutching his stomach as he fell onto his knees out of the open scanner.

"But, I don't understand, the message was secure — how could they have known —?" Jeremy spluttered.

The ground beneath them suddenly shifted, as though an earthquake were passing through: they stumbled, crashing to their knees against the dusty floor, as Porphyrion leapt lightly onto the platform to their right, still chuckling. A moment later, they began to rise, and vaguely the thought registered that the platform was floating upwards; then they realized that it was tilting, shifting on its axis so that it hovered vertically in midair, and they tumbled off, screaming as they plummeted towards the Digital Sea.

Odd launched himself towards the platform, sinking his claws into it: he skidded down a good length, but came to a gradual halt and caught Gabrielle by the arm; Aelita swiped her star-shaped band, then grasped Mila's hand, pulling her up as her wings sprouted; and Ulrich pulled a saber from his digital scabbard and plunged it into the wall, grabbing hold of William as he did so.

"Thanks," William panted. A beam of light suddenly streaked from the Sea below: his sword had escaped his grip and fallen into it. A derisive laugh boomed out above, and they all looked up to see Altaea perched at the top of the overturned plateau.

"If she's here too, that must mean —" Odd began, but before he could even finish, Orion came galloping across the surface of the neighboring plateau, his dragon's snout of a mouth opened wide in an awful leer.

"We're surrounded," Aelita said.

"Hang on, I'm almost there," Jeremy said. Seconds later, three vehicles materialized in midair: the Overbike, Overrose, and Overboard. Unsupported, they glided through the air towards each pair, and they leapt atop them at once.

"Thanks, Jeremy," Odd said.

"Guys, you have to get to the sphere," Jeremy told them. They looked up once more and saw that the orb had not budged, but was simply hovering there, undisturbed, unmoving. "I don't know what it could be used for yet, but right now it doesn't matter; we'll never figure it out if XANA gets his hands on it!"

"All right, we're on it, Jeremy," Ulrich said. "Well, you're not really my student, but since Yumi's not here and Leo was devirtualized, I guess we can make an exception. What do you say we take Ol' Bug Eye?" he said, grinning, to William, who nodded and smirked back. He turned back to the others. "We'll handle Porphyrion, you guys get the orb."

"Roger," said Odd. "We'll take care of Handsome over there." As Ulrich and William zoomed off towards the cyclops, Odd and Gabrielle swooped off to meet Orion.

"That leaves us to take care of her," Aelita said to Mila, pointing at Altaea. "Are you ready?" Mila nodded. "Okay, we'll attack from different sides. You take the controls." She tapped her bracelet again and took off as her wings emerged. Grasping the vine-like reins with one hand, Mila seized her whip with the other and flew off, heading towards the last giant.

"Watch out!" Aelita cried. Jets of red light were raining down on them. Aelita ducked and swerved, dodging as many as she could as Mila swooped to the right. But there were too many. Narrowly dodging another, she raised her arms, summoning Energy Fields in both hands, and linked them, forming a shaft of interlaced energy to block several attacks in sequence. Then she prised her hands apart and threw one of the spheres.

Altaea swatted the orb aside with her huge mace, then held her hand out towards Mila, who was approaching from the side. Mila grasped the reins more tightly, ready to duck sideways as soon as Altaea launched another streak of light, but none came. She continued to surge upwards, her whip at the ready — but a large boulder suddenly erupted from the ground directly in front of her, blocking her path.

Caught off-guard, Mila slammed into it, veering off course. She managed to right herself just in time, and Aelita flew over, coming to rest beside her.

"Are you okay?" she asked Mila.

"Yes, I'm fine," Mila said breathlessly.

"Unbelievable," Jeremy muttered, more to himself than anybody else. "Porphyrion can materialize new monsters out of nowhere, and Altaea can manipulate Lyoko's terrain." He grit his teeth. "Guys, you've gotta secure the key so I can bring you back in, we can't risk losing it."

"We're doing all we can!" Aelita said desperately as she dodged yet more descending bursts of red light. Mila zoomed up past her, forging through the hail of scarlet blasts, and struck out at Altaea. But the giant ducked, swung her enormous mace and slammed it into the Overrose; it disappeared upon impact and Mila went plummeting towards the Digital Sea again. Aelita dove, her wings flapping hard on either side: she grabbed hold of Mila just in time, and as she rose, veering back towards land, she caught sight of Altaea closing in one the ankh-patterned orb, walking down the overturned stretch of land as though it had not been affected.

Aelita flung Mila unceremoniously onto the platform to their right, shouted, " _Energy Field_!" and launched the pink orb through the air. It hit the Harbinger pointblank, engulfing her in a stream of swirling energy and causing her to lose balance. She tumbled off, but managed to secure a grip on the land by digging her huge fingers into the desert floor.

" _Energy Field_!" Aelita shouted again, but Altaea deflected the attack. She was slowly reverting the platform to its original state.

Just as Aelita began to ask herself what they could do, she saw Mila slump to her knees in a fashion very similar to her herself whenever she used her creativity. Her form began to glow with a faint, lilac light, and Aelita, looking up quickly, saw a shimmering image of Mila, an Astral Projection, appear beside Altaea, who, for a moment, looked very shocked. She immediately recovered, trying to smash Mila with her mace, but it passed harmlessly through her ghostly form. Mila, on the other hand, drew her whip and lashed out; unable to dodge and unable to deflect, the giant lay powerless on the slowly turning land as the whip cleaved off her thick fingers. She lost her hold and dropped past them, speeding towards the sea.

She vanished into its depths, though there was no eruption of light as was usual for beings disintegrated in the Digital Sea; she was still alive.

"Well done, Mila!" Jeremy cried. The spectral vision of Mila faded, and her body straightened up, smiling at Aelita, who beamed back.

"Well? Go and get it," Mila said.

Aelita soared up towards the orb, landing on the lopsided platform, and grasped the glowing sphere, slowly and tenderly. It was quite warm. Behind her, Porphyrion let out a bellow of rage and she turned in time to see William and Ulrich blasted backwards by some unseen force, the Overbike clattering away beside them.

A deluge of energy waves rained upon her a moment later. She tried to dodge, but they were coming too fast. In desperation, Aelita turned and leapt off the platform, soaring off with the sphere still clutched in her hands. She was heading for Mila, but the waves were still following her. Just as she was about to be hit, Mila launched herself towards her, pushing Aelita aside and accepting the blast in her stead. As Aelita watched her go, she glanced up and saw Porphyrion materializing a manta.

William and Ulrich were incapacitated far away; Odd was still locked in combat with Orion: Gabrielle had been devirtualized. She was alone.

She seemed to be watching the scene ahead in slow motion, thinking hard. Their objective wasn't to fight the monsters, it was to secure the sphere. She had to get it away from here, lock it in a tower, or . . . _Wait_ , she thought. She raised the orb, glancing down at it again, observing the patterns. Locks . . . Ankhs . . . _Keys_.

Theories were rapidly constructing themselves in her mind. Leo had stated that the ankh was said to be the key of life. Was this sphere just symbolic? Or was it an actual key? In which case — what was the door?

And then it all came to her in one shining piece.

"Jeremy, how far am I from the edge of the sector?"

"Huh? But why would you —"

"Please, Jeremy!" Aelita turned and sailed away across the Desert, still cradling the orb, as Porphyrion descended upon her.

"Um . . . just a hundred meters more to the east."

Aelita swerved, changing direction. Porphyrion followed, his huge form gliding atop the unnaturally large manta beneath him. Energy blasts still streamed on all sides; it was all she could do to avoid them.

But each attack was getting closer and closer. She tried to put on a burst of speed, hurrying towards the platform she could see just ahead.

"Jeremy, the transporter, hurry!"

"Aelita, what are you —"

" _Just do it_!"

With a growl of frustration, Jeremy opened the window displaying the message, "Welcome to Carthage," which he hadn't done in months, not since they had discovered the way to enter Sector Five directly. He typed in the letters: S — C — I — P — I — O, and tapped enter.

The great white sphere rose from the depths of the Digital Sea, spiraling towards the platform. She bounded forward just as a wave of energy ripped past her, launching herself into a dive as the transporter reached the intended spot. It scooped her up and soared away as Porphyrion flung his blade, embedding it in the desert floor.

"Jeremy, what's going on? Why's Aelita going to Sector Five?" Ulrich demanded.

"I have no idea. Quick, you have to get to the edge of the sector, I'll send you in after her!"

"All right, we're on our way. Can you reprogram the vehicles?"

"I'm on it. Just give me a minute."

"I don't think we'll have that long," William said grimly, pointing. Porphyrion had returned, and he looked furious.

"Hold him off, I'm almost there!"

Ulrich drew his sabers, and William hoisted his enormous, double-handed blade, which Jeremy had reprogrammed earlier.

"Go!" Ulrich said. They hurtled forward, and Porphyrion responded immediately, throwing spiraling surges of energy in earnest.

" _Super Sprint_!" Ulrich cried, and he raced off. But Porphyrion had been waiting for it; with a wicked grin, he launched his eye from his forehead. It stopped dead mere feet away from them, and a wall of energy exploded outwards from its iris, erecting a dome of scarlet light.

William was again struck by the blast, his body succumbing to the horrible, sluggish movements inflicted by the cyclops's powers. Ulrich, however, his Super Sprint still active, seemed to have been slowed down to his usual speed. But it was not enough. Porphyrion bore down upon them, kicking his heel into the manta's side, and a barrage of over-sized mines flew into the center of the field and exploded, wiping them out.

"Ulrich! William!"

Jeremy hung his head, pounding the arms of his chair with his fist. It was all up to Odd now, Odd, alone against two Harbingers, with only thirty life points left. . . .

"Jeremy, what is she doing?" said Leo's voice from behind him. He was pointing at the screen. Jeremy looked up. Aelita’s dot had made it to the Celestial Dome, and she was gliding towards —

"Xanadu’s access," Jeremy breathed. "Aelita, what are you doing?"

"Looking for answers, Jeremy." She paused, directly in front of the access, her wings fluttering around her. She looked at the sphere again, then she threw it into the tunnel. The effect was instant, and exactly what she had been hoping for. The moment the sphere had entered the access, it began to glow with a blazing white light, and the reddish-gold walls of the access became a bright, emerald-green.

Aelita smiled in a satisfied way, then streaked off towards the tunnel.

"Aelita, no!" Jeremy said, terrified. The image of the access on the screens had changed drastically. "What are you doing?"

"I know you'll figure it out, Jeremy," she said softly. "I know you'll find me again. . . . I have faith in you."

" _Aelita_ —"

But Aelita flew into the tunnel, and a moment later, her dot faded completely from the screens.


	14. Chapter 14

"AELITA!"

"Jeremy, what's going on? Everyone else is gone and I've still got two Harbingers on my tail!"

"Odd, Aelita just disappeared into Xanadu’s access point, but she didn't show up anywhere _on_ Xanadu! Hurry, you've got to get to Sector Five!"

"I'd love to help, but my new playmates don't seem ready to end the game yet!" Odd said, dodging bursts of energy and poison as Porphyrion and Orion continued to tail him.

"You've got to get away from them! Hang on, I'll try to send you some backup." Jeremy spun around in his chair. "You've got to go to Lyoko."

" _What_?" Sissi cried in disbelief. "But —"

"Aelita’s vanished from the screens entirely, Odd needs help, and everybody else has already been devirtualized, you _have_ to!"

"No, I can't. I — I won't go to that place."

"I thought you had already virtualized yourself onto Lyoko?" Leo said, raising an eyebrow.

"I was bluffing!" Sissi wailed. "I don't know how to use that thing, I listened to your diary for hours and still couldn't get it!"

"But Nicolas and Herb —" William began.

"Are in my room. I asked them to help me with the plugs there because they're faulty, and I told them to call my father if they couldn't fix them. They don't know anything about the supercomputer!"

"Wow," Mila said, after a slight pause. "You are truly, deeply _awful_."

"It doesn't matter," Jeremy spoke up. "Sissi —" He looked directly at her. "After everything you've done, if you truly want to make things right, if you truly want to be a part of our group, to fight against XANA, then this is your chance. Please."

They gazed at each other, Sissi's face still contorted with shock. Ulrich fully expected her to refuse, to duck away as usual. To their immense surprise, she sighed and said, "All right."

"You — you will?" Jeremy said, taken aback.

Sissi nodded and started for the elevator, ready to descend to the Scanner Room. The metal obscured her face as the doors closed and the elevator sank out of sight. They gaped at the doorway in silence, stunned, for a few seconds. Then Jeremy shook his head and turned back to the monitor.

"You can't be serious, Jeremy," Gabrielle said at once.

"Completely," he replied with finality, typing on the keyboard again. "Aelita needs help now, and Odd'll never make it on his own against Orion and Porphyrion. Oh, Yumi," he said in relief, as the phone lines connected at last.

"What is it, Jeremy? Did something else happen with _her_?"

"Actually, yes, but not what you think. Aelita took the sphere that our unknown correspondent sent over at the meeting point and used it to alter Xanadu’s access. She opened up a new gateway and I have no idea where it leads. Head for the factory now, I'm sending you and Sissi in to backup Odd."

"I'm sorry, did I hear that correctly?" Yumi said in a stunned voice.

"You did. Sissi is going to Lyoko. How fast can you get here?"

"I don't know if I can make it at all. Remember, I've still got that brat hanging around. The moment he notices I'm gone he'll call my parents."

"I'll deal with Hiroki," Ulrich said dispassionately, pulling out his phone and moving towards the elevator. "You just concentrate on getting over here."

"Okay, I'm off," Yumi said, and she hung up.

Ulrich stepped into the lift and the doors closed, carrying him up to the entrance of the factory.

"Okay, Sissi, are you in position?"

"I — I am." She sounded terrified.

"Then get ready." He took a deep breath. "Transfer, Sissi! . . . Scanner, Sissi! . . . Virtualization!"

At the last word, Jeremy tapped the enter key, watching as the blank digital card loaded fully.

"Sissi?" he said, tapping the microphone on the side of his head. "Are you there? Come in, Sissi."

A long, shrill scream suddenly sounded on the other end, ringing through the room and startling them all.

"Sissi! Sissi, what's happened? Sissi, please, come in!"

There was no response. Jeremy's heart was pounding against his chest as he exchanged terrified looks with the others —

"Urgh, what kind of outfit is this?" Sissi's voice said in disgust, and Jeremy jerked around at once.

She was standing in the center of the Arena, surveying her new virtual gear with distaste. She was dressed in a pair of black leather heels laced over dark overalls, a jacket with tails, and a top hat, holding a long, metallic staff topped with a glowing emerald pearl.

"A top hat, seriously?" she said, brushing her fingers against the rim of the headpiece and shivering.

Jeremy sighed with a mixture of relief and exasperation. "You almost gave me a heart attack, you know that?" he said, laughing in spite of himself. "Wait where you are, Sissi. I'll check up on Odd." He opened a communication window, then said, "Odd, how're you doing?"

"I've been better!" Odd yelled irritably. He was surging forward on all fours, still barely dodging attacks from the Harbinger brothers. "And it'd be great if you could reprogram my board too!"

"Coming up," said Jeremy. "Materialization, Overboard!"

The lilac hoverboard appeared directly in front of Odd, and he leapt onto it and rose into the air, away from the pursuing giants.

"Nice going, Odd!"

"Thanks. Now, tell me how I can get to the edge of the sector."

"It's not much further from where you are now, bearing south."

"Right-o!" Odd wheeled around in midair and shot past the Harbingers, aiming arrows at both as he went. He was quite pleased to see that one of them had sunk into Porphyrion’s eye, knocking him flat on his back.

"Sissi is already waiting for you there, and Yumi's on her way."

Odd continued steadily towards the edge of the Desert, leaping off the Overboard and onto the edge of the platform as he arrived. "I'm here, Jeremy."

Jeremy once again pulled up the window for the transporter, typed in the password "SCIPIO," and entered the code. As the great white sphere appeared on the screen, the elevator door opened behind them and an out-of-breath Yumi came into view, leaning against the walls.

"Ah, Yumi, excellent," Jeremy said. "Get to the Scanner Room. Er — as soon as you take a breath, that is," he added nervously as she shot him a glare.

"How did you manage to get away from your brother?" Gabrielle asked her.

"I don't — know," she wheezed. "Looks like — Ulrich — called him and talked to him." She drew a deep breath and straightened up. "Okay, I'm ready, Jeremy," she said as she tapped the "down" button.

Jeremy nodded, then wheeled back to his seat again. He started up the process again as Yumi assumed her place in one of the scanners.

"Virtualization!"

Yumi materialized in midair, landing between Sissi and Odd in the Arena.

"Wow, not bad, Yumi," Sissi said, observing her with an appreciative eye as she straightened up.

Yumi harrumphed and turned away, crossing her arms.

"Good, you're all there now," Jeremy said. "Hurry to the Celestial Dome."

Odd and Yumi took the lead with Sissi bringing up the rear as they raced through the cavernous, sapphire halls of the Core Zone. They hurried to the elevator (which Sissi nearly missed as she jumped) and sped up towards the platform of the main interface.

"We're here, Jeremy!" Yumi called as the shutter slid open and they darted onto the extending platform.

"Woah," Odd breathed. He was gazing at the tunnel in the distance, whose walls were a startling green, quite unlike the usual reddish-gold. "You're right, Jeremy. The access looks different."

"I'm sending over your vehicles," Jeremy told them. "As soon as you get them, go in and try to find Aelita, but be careful."

"Um, are you sure that's smart?" Yumi said. "Didn't you say Aelita vanished from the screens when she entered?"

"Well — yes, but —"

"Ah, come on, Yumi," Odd broke in helpfully. "Aelita knew what she was doing, I'm sure she's still in good shape."

"Right, give me a minute," Jeremy said. But the words were barely out of his mouth when Yumi suddenly tapped Odd, pointing at the walls on their left, which had begun to bulge.

"Uh oh, better hurry, Jeremy. Looks like the Mantas are finally awake," he sang.

"The what?" Sissi said nervously.

"Flying Mantas!" Odd told her brightly. "Gigantic, flying fish that shoot lasers and hatch exploding mines. You wanted to be part of our group, well, here you are!"

Sissi looked as though she was going to faint. She trembled, clutching her staff awkwardly as the Mantas' bodies forced their way outwards. Yumi and Odd stepped forward expectantly, Yumi unfolding her fans and Odd grasping one arm in the next, directing his fist at the odd shapes emerging from the walls.

"Here comes the welcoming committee," he said. "Three — two — one —" With a burst of blue light, the Mantas erupted into the air, their large, leathery wings swirling around them as they twirled gracefully. Sissi screamed.

The Mantas dove towards them as one, and the middle creature attacked. Yumi launched herself forward, intercepting the strike with the leaves of one fan as Odd took aim behind her: " _Laser Arrow_!"

An arrow flew from his knuckles and pierced the mark upon the Manta's back, and it exploded in a shower of bits.

"One down, two to — woah!" A Manta had just swooped past, and Yumi paid for her lapse in concentration as a laser flew into her chest and knocked her backwards; one of her fans fell from her hands, spiraling slowly away into the depths of Sector Five. The Manta circled back as Yumi leapt up, and with her remaining weapon she spun on the spot, blocking the new projectiles, and threw. The fan whizzed through the air like a glowing Frisbee, ripping across the Manta's back, and it burst apart with a screech.

The final Manta turned, incensed, and let loose a hail of mines. The pale white projectiles flew through the air, sailing towards them.

" _Laser Arrow_!"

Odd targeted the first in the series, and the arrow connected; it exploded in a surge of piercing white light, and the blast ripped through the others behind it, letting loose a chain of eruptions. One managed to avoid detonation, and now came swooping down upon them from the right. Sissi, who had been watching the pair work in awe in the background, looked up as she caught sight of the object streaking towards them.

She screamed again as Yumi and Odd ducked aside, throwing up her hands. But the emerald orb atop her staff suddenly glowed, and a field of light erupted from within, encircling her in a deep green forcefield. The mine collided with the barrier and exploded, but the barrier held.

As the Manta glided past overhead, the forcefield faded, and Sissi, watching the energy crackle within the orb as though it was a firecracker waiting to go off, pointed the staff in its direction. Two jets of green light flew from the tip and soared towards the Manta. It dodged the first, but the second flew directly into its back, puncturing the mark that adorned it and vaporizing it with a pitiful shriek.

"Nice job!" Yumi told her, so impressed that she had forgotten her anger.

Sissi smiled weakly, her heart leaping once more, but with excitement now rather than fear.

"Great work, you three," Jeremy said. "Now here come your rides."

Within seconds the Overwing and Overboard materialized at the end of the platform, hovering side by side. Odd dove upon the board at once, but Yumi hesitated, glancing at the access.

"Are you sure we'll be able to get back?"

"As long as the access remains open, you should be able to," Jeremy said, but he didn't sound so sure.

"Okay," Yumi said. She leapt onto the Overwing and turned to Sissi. "Coming?"

Sissi cautiously stepped up behind her, grasping Yumi's waist with one hand and keeping the other firmly wrapped around the base of her staff.

Yumi and Odd kicked off towards the access, which was still humming with bright green energy.

"Now, be careful," Jeremy urged them. "And keep an eye out for Aelita."

"Roger," Yumi said, and they hurtled into the tunnel. A bright white light washed over them as they went deeper, and their labeled dots disappeared from the screens, just as it had happened with Aelita.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Yumi! Odd! Sissi!"

"What? What happened?" William demanded, shuffling forward to get a better look at the monitor.

Jeremy put his head in his hands and choked, "They — they've disappeared from the radar! I don't understand — why is this happening? It must be — huh?" Jeremy sat up abruptly, his eyes widening.

"What?" Leo asked.

"The access just reverted to its original condition," Jeremy said, sounding bewildered.

"Do you mean —" Gabrielle began, horrified.

Jeremg turned towards her, his youthful face a mask of terror.

"The gateway is closed off. They're locked in wherever they are now, with no way to get back to Lyoko."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Odd closed his eyes against the sudden flare; the light descended over them, like a warm breeze. Then the glare died down and he opened his eyes. Looking around, he noted at once that they had left Lyoko behind. But they had not landed on Xanadu either.

The space ahead looked like a cross between the Mountain Sector and Sector Five, broken and disjointed stretches of land hovering in a white mist, but it was not mountains that hung before them; the ground seemed to be made of huge white tiles, winding and crisscrossing all over, like massive, blank dominoes, with an immense dark void writhing far below them, like an unprocessed version of the Digital Sea.

"Jeremy, what is this place?" Odd said. There was no response. "Jeremy? Can you hear us?"

"What's going on?" Sissi said, sounding scared. "Why isn't he answering?"

"We must have lost contact with him when we entered wherever this is," Yumi said. "And the access is gone too!" she added suddenly, glancing behind them. The gateway had completely vanished, the area around it unperturbed as if it had never existed in the first place.

"Let's land, take a look around and find out what's going on," Odd said. Yumi nodded and they swooped towards the nearest plateau. The moment Odd hopped off the Overboard, however, the ground beneath his feet shimmered and vanished; he stumbled, almost falling into the void below, but caught himself just in time by leaping clumsily onto the Overboard before he plummeted.

"What's going on?" Sissi cried, as Yumi raised the Overwing a little, away from the treacherous ground.

"It's unstable," Yumi breathed. "This place — whatever it is — it's unstable. That must explain . . . that." She pointed towards the huge, spiraling black hole underneath them, which seemed to be drawing gradually closer.

"Aelita must be around here somewhere," Odd said, peering around again. "Let's find her and get out of here."

"But where do we look?" Yumi said hopelessly. A few seconds passed in silence, but then a very familiar voice came drifting out of the quiet towards them:

" _Energy Field_!"

"It came from over there," Yumi said quickly, pointing across to the platform on their right, and without further ado they soared off towards it. Aelita's voice became louder, shouting in the distance. They could hear the familiar hum of lasers.

They surged forward, through the fog, and then she came into view, her pink, glowing wings fluttering around her as she ducked and weaved around a large group of hornets, returning attacks of her own in earnest.

" _Laser Arrow_!"

"Hiya!"

Yumi's fan zoomed through the air, accompanied by two arrows. The fan swooped into the hive and ripped across the marks embossed across two hornets' bodies, and the arrows sank into their targets, so that four explosions went off in series. Only one was left, looking around for the source of the commotion. Timidly, Sissi raised her staff and concentrated on the attacks she had performed earlier, visualizing streams of energy flying from the orb, and streaks of green light shot out: the hornet deflected the first with a laser of its own, but the second pierced through the mark upon its head, and it burst apart.

Aelita turned around and a wave of relief flushed through her face.

"Yumi, Odd. And — um —"

"Jeremy sent her over, when he saw that you'd disappeared," Odd said. Sissi gave her a tremulous smile.

"That's wonderful, so he's figured it out then?" Aelita said, looking impressed.

"Figured what out?"

"Where we are, of course."

"Sorry, Princess, but even _we_ don't know where we are," Odd told her honestly. Her face fell.

"You mean, Jeremy doesn't know?"

Yumi shook her head. "Not to our knowledge. We lost contact the moment we arrived here." She glanced down at the swirling void below, which had risen significantly. "Aelita, what is this place?"

Aelita turned around, her piercing green eyes gazing into the distance. "New Olympus," she said.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a stunned silence.

"That's crazy," Odd said. "New Olympus was destroyed when the generator blew up. You saw the video yourself!"

"I know it sounds strange, but I'm sure of it. I'll explain everything as soon as we get what we came for."

"Which is?"

Aelita closed her eyes and raised her hand. The golden sphere that Odd had seen appear beside him earlier blossomed from her palm, except that now the sphere seemed to be folding in on itself, contorting into a disc, with only one ankh upon the surface. It spun around like a compass needle, pointing into the distance. "It happened after I came in. It must lead to our unknown contact."

Yumi, Odd, and Sissi exchanged looks.

"I'm not sure about this, Aelita," Yumi said. "Shouldn't we be working on getting out of here? We still don't know who this person is at all, what if they're dangerous?"

"But this could be our only chance at finding out what's really going on," she protested. "And besides, our contact is the one who led us here. If the passage is closed, as you said, meeting them might be the only way to escape."

Yumi sighed. "Okay, fine. We'll meet them and then work on getting out."

"And then you can explain what's going on here," Odd said.

"Hopefully, _everything_ will be explained after this." Aelita fluttered down onto the Overboard, clutching Odd's waist with one arm while holding the disc with the other. She pointed straight ahead. "That way."

They took off again, ducking beneath great stretches of white slabs. The roaring vacuum below was still rising, growing louder, like a thunderous-grey tide. As they flew, more and more platforms around them began to fade in and out of sight. The place was falling apart.

The light of the ankh began to blink, like a strobing beacon. "We're getting closer," Aelita said eagerly.

They forged through a blanket of mist and saw, quite clearly, an enormous metallic sphere. It was like a miniature version of Sector Five, except iron-grey, with huge spikes protruding from all over its surface, and a large red circle branded on the front.

"What is that?" Odd said.

"I have no idea," Aelita replied. "But — oh!" The disc flew out of her hands, moving, for the first time, unsupported. It pelted through the air and slowly sank into the red circle upon the sphere. The effect was immediate. It glowed a brilliant blue, and the top of the sphere slowly lifted open, as though it were some kind bizarre chest.

The interior was almost completely hollow, with a single platform hovering in the center, but something was shining upon. Slowly, the platform elevated, and they saw what was inside for the first time.

It was a humanoid figure, but with no discernible features. It was as though it had been woven out of the data files that lined the walls of Sector Five, bright blue and completely blank.

"At last," it croaked. Its voice was strangely warbled. "I knew you would come."

"Who are you?" Odd asked, his voice more threatening than curious. "What's going on in this place?"

"There's no time," the figure said. "This world is being destroyed as we speak. Please, you must help me."

"Why should we?" Yumi said. "We have no idea who you are."

"Explanations can be offered later," the being said, with a touch of impatience its voice. "But not if we are all lost in the digital void."

It pointed at the growing hole below. The darkness was alarmingly close now, swallowing the entire lower level of the sector. "Please," it pleaded again. "Help me."

They looked at each other, all silently asking the same question — _Should we? Why?_

Aelita swallowed. Deciding quickly, she swiped her band and her wings erupted from her back. She took to the air, looking down at them. "Odd, do what he says."

"What?" Odd said. "Have you gone bananas —"

"Now," she said firmly. "There's no time to argue."

Though he clearly wanted to protest, he wheeled the Overboard around and dipped towards the figure nevertheless, and the man jumped aboard at once.

"Can you guide us out of here?" Aelita asked the being.

"I had to close the passage earlier, because it consumed too much energy to maintain it. But I should be able to now. You'll have to go back to where we were."

Yumi, Odd, and Aelita changed direction, elevating higher as the waves of darkness swallowed the area where they had stood only seconds ago, submerging the sphere that had held the being now riding with Odd atop the Overboard. They pressed on as fast as they could, weaving between platforms that were still fading in and out of existence, soaring towards the place through which they had come. The whole place had gone dark, the virtual void engulfing the entire sector. It reminded them horribly of the time that XANA had performed a similar act, hoping to eradicate Lyoko by raising the level of the Digital Sea.

But this was more sinister, somehow. The void below seemed to be absorbing even the light from this realm, crashing and roaring like a storm-tossed ocean. They knew what would happen if they were thrown into the Digital Sea. This, however, they did not. The gateway appeared before them, a passage of brilliant emerald green. But it was too far away, and the immense darkness was gaining now.

"Hurry!" Aelita cried. They pushed the vehicles as hard as they could go, but it wasn't fast enough. A huge wave erupted from behind them, bearing down upon them, as though the dark mass was alive. Horror flooded through them — this was it. . . .

But the vehicles suddenly began to glow, outlined with a piercing blue light, and Aelita’s wings changed from shocking-pink to a brilliant sapphire. With a miraculous spurt of speed, they zoomed into the passage just before the wave crashed down, and moments later, they erupted into the Celestial Dome.

"Aelita!" Jeremy's voice cried out in relief a few seconds later. "Yumi! Odd! Sissi! You're all okay! And —" His voice broke off abruptly. "But . . . what's this? The holomap registers someone else riding with you . . . but that can't be right. . . ."

"Jeremy, we'll explain later, but for now, open a tunnel, hurry," Aelita said.

This time he did not protest, but heeded her words at once and readied the passageway. They zoomed into the tunnel, their speed reverting to normal as the blue glows faded, and emerged through a Way Tower into the Ice Sector.

"There's a neutral tower over there," Aelita said. "We can stop there."

They changed direction, moving towards the pillar in the distance.

"Good," Odd said. "It's time we got some answers."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wasn't put together all that well, especially the fight scenes, because I was just *so* tired, but I tried to fix it up as best as I could. More as soon as possible, but while you wait, you can check out my other Fic Spirit of Lyoko right here on Ao3. It's only at one chapter so far but I'll be updating at the first opportunity.

As usual, things went wrong immediately. As they charged towards the tower, a cascade of lasers flew from behind them: one crashed between Aelita’s shoulder blades, blasting her out of the air; another slammed into the Overboard, devirtualizing it and causing Odd and their mysterious contact to topple off, skidding across the frozen terrain.

"We just can't catch a break, can we?" Yumi said angrily, weaving around yet more lasers. She glanced behind them and saw four Tarantulas approaching, standing up on their hind legs every now and then to launch more lasers.

Yumi wheeled around and came to a halt beside Odd, who was ducking around lasers. She hopped off the Overwing and Sissi joined her, but Sissi had barely touched ground when several lasers slammed into her stomach and she flew backwards, disappearing a moment later. Aelita darted forward, interlacing two Energy Fields so that she could form a continuous flow of energy, blocking several attacks.

Yumi flicked her wrist and her fan appeared in her hand, but a laser suddenly blasted it out of her hand and vaporized it.

"Ouch! Ah, Jeremy —" she said, flashing her stinging hand.

"I'm already on it: two fans coming up, but it's going to take some time."

"I was afraid you'd say that," she said. She tried to dodge, maneuvering around as many lasers as she could, but she too was hit, sprawling backwards from the force.

"Jeremy, we're not going to make it on our own!" Aelita yelled.

"You have to, I won't be able to send anyone else in just yet!"

He was typing madly, working as fast as he could to restore Yumi's lost weapons, when a new window suddenly popped open on the screen. "What's this?" His eyes sped along the length of the window, taking in the code it displayed. "This is a code to reboot the virtualization program!" he exclaimed.

"What?" William, Leo, Mila, and Gabrielle said in unison.

"Does that mean you'll be able to send us back?" William went on.

"If it works, possibly. But it could also bug up the whole system," Jeremy said.

"We don't have a choice, Jeremy. You have to try it!" Aelita said.

Jeremy was silent for a moment, pondering the situation.

"Okay," he said at last. "Hurry down to the Scanner Room, all of you," he said, and he began to set up the new program as they rushed down below. They met Sissi, who was seated at the base of one of the scanners, and who vehemently refused to be re-virtualized at that moment. They let her be, hurrying to take their positions in the scanners, just as Jeremy launched the program above. The scanner program appeared onscreen, three cylindrical diagrams representing the pods below, filled with a scarlet light. Seconds later they rebooted, successfully changing from red to green.

"All right!" Jeremy cheered. "It works. Get ready, you guys. Transfer, Mila! Transfer, Leo! Transfer, Gabrielle! Scanner, and virtualization!"

Yumi, Aelita, and Odd were still barely dodging the hail of attacks still raining upon them. Odd had taken up position away from their unknown companion, aiming to draw the monsters' fire, then dodging or deflecting the blasts with his violet shield.

In front of him, Aelita had rested two fingers upon her forehead, one hand held out in front of her; a moment later, several large icicles sprouted from the ground.

"Yumi!"

Yumi understood at once, placing her own hands against her forehead and closing her eyes, concentrating deeply upon the icicles that Aelita had just conjured. A bright white aura appeared around her as she activated her telekinesis: the icicles broke away from the ground and rose into the air, and with a swift thrusting motion of her hands, the shards shot towards their assailants. One ripped into the first Tarantula's underside, sending it sprawling onto its back, where it exploded. The other plunged into the mark atop its companion's large snout and it burst apart. The other two, however, managed to dodge. One fired at Aelita and she flew backwards again, losing consciousness on impact.

"Aelita!" Yumi shouted. The Tarantulas now turned their lasers upon her. The red blasts streaked through the air and she closed her eyes, awaiting the impact as they flew towards her, but it never came. William leapt in front of her and swung his enormous blade, so that the blasts ricocheted off of the gleaming metal and rebounded upon the Tarantulas, destroying one as the lasers pierced the mark upon its snout.

He winked at Yumi as Mila jumped forward and struck out with her whip, lashing it across the remaining Tarantula's face. As it erupted into sparks, William turned towards the faceless being behind them.

"What's _that_?"

"Long story," Yumi said.

"Save it for another time, another group of monsters just materialized behind you!" Jeremy called urgently. Odd and Aelita, who had mercifully regained consciousness, now came rushing towards them, along with Leo and Gabrielle. They looked ahead at the large group of Krabs that XANA had just sent over, all advancing upon them, digging their long claws into the ice as they moved.

"We can take 'em," William said, hoisting his sword. "Move out on three. One — two — thr — agh!"

William did not finish his sentence. A wave of energy poured into his back as he spoke, devirtualizing him in an instant.

"William!" Mila cried. She looked around and gasped, aghast, and the others followed suit, their eyes widening. "Leo?"

The brown-haired boy was advancing slowly upon them, his thunderbolt clutched in his hand and humming with energy, the symbol of XANA clearly imprinted against his eye, where his iris should have been.

"Jeremy, XANA's managed to possess Leo!" Odd cried.

"No! That's impossible!" Jeremy shouted.

They backed away from him, their eyes roving onto Gabrielle, who was standing stock-still. She looked up, and they saw that the same symbol across her eyes. She seized her scallop shells and opened them, her blades of energy humming to life as she smirked cruelly.

"It's true, we can see the insignia in their eyes, Jeremy," Aelita cried.

Leo turned his thunderbolt towards them and fired. Mila, Yumi, Odd, and Aelita dove aside.

Aelita glanced up and saw Gabrielle stalking towards the figure they had rescued from the unstable virtual world, who was cowering on the floor. " _Energy Field_!"

The rippling pink sphere flew from her fingers and towards the brown-haired girl, who whipped around with a snarl; her blades grew longer, the edges sharpening, and she slashed the orb, which burst apart into a shower of sparks.

The Krabs behind them began to fire, launching a barrage of lasers. Odd was struck directly in the back and vanished in a whirl of digital strips. Yumi ducked aside, trying valiantly not to be hit.

" _Jeremy_!"

Jeremy tapped the enter key and two glowing fans bloomed in Yumi's hands. She sprang to her feet and backed up, facing Gabrielle from the front while Mila and Aelita faced Leo behind her, all huddling closer.

"I don't understand," Mila said. "How could XANA have possessed them? I thought you said fighting on Lyoko makes it impossible to be controlled?"

"That's what we thought too," Yumi said. "Unless . . ."

"No, they're the real ones, all right," Jeremy said, as if reading her thoughts. "The last time there was a bug during the transfer, but nothing happened this time. XANA must have done it before the virtualization. How, we don't have time to consider. They must be after whoever you brought back from the access. You've got to get him to the tower."

"All right, we'll have to get past them first. Ready to go?" Yumi said quietly to Mila and Aelita. Both nodded. "Now!" Yumi said, and they burst into action.

She darted forward and hurled both her newly acquired fans. Leo wove around the first, letting it fly past him, then jumped over the second and aimed his thunderbolt at Yumi. As lightning crackled along the grate, the fans came zooming back towards him and slammed into his back, sending him sprawling face-first across the tundra. They flew back towards her and she caught them, spinning on the spot to avoid the fire from the Krabs.

Aelita was rushing towards them from overhead, her wings working furiously around her as she dodged lasers. She swooped down upon them, Energy Fields appearing in both arms, and fired: she hit two Krabs and they exploded, then swooped into gap left behind in their wake.

Ahead of her, Gabrielle was still hacking at every inch of Mila she could see. Mila was dodging only narrowly, Gabrielle being much faster; but she managed to intercept one of her strikes by doubling her whip and lacing them around her arms. Her scallop shells clattered out of her hands as she froze, the burning whip painful against her flesh.

"Aelita, take him to the tower, Yumi and I will handle them!" she yelled.

Aelita barreled past her her, nodding as she flew towards their mysterious companion. She stopped to pick up Yumi's discarded Overwing and helped their quarry onto it, then soared off towards the tower. Seeing that they were safe, Mila unwound her whip and kicked Gabrielle in the chest, sending her flying out of the way.

"Sorry, Gabby," she mutterered apologetically, and she darted off towards her again.

She heard the smooth whirring of Yumi's fans as she threw one of them again; Leo cried, " _Aegis_!" and it ricocheted off. She tried to catch it, but the fan's blades nicked at her fingers as she reached out and flew out of her grasp. Leo launched himself forward as she flashed her hands yet again, and fired. She flipped out of the way and bolt of electricity ripped past her, sinking into Gabrielle’s chest behind them and devirtualizing her at once.

"Nice job, Leo!" Mila shouted jeeringly.

"Mila, behind you!" Jeremy yelled.

"Huh?" She turned around, but it was too late. The Krab's blast hit her point-blank and she disappeared.

"Just you and me, Yumi," Leo called, smirking. He raised his thunderbolt, charging a final attack, and Yumi threw her last fan. They surged past each other in the air: the lightning struck Yumi in the chest and she fell backwards, her virtual form stripping away as she watched Leo duck under the fan. Just before she vanished completely, she witnessed the lilac glint that signified the disk wheeling around, and it slammed into his back, so that he disappeared seconds after she did.

"Aelita, it's just you now, hurry!" Jeremy told her.

"I'm almost there!"

A blast suddenly hit the rear of the Overwing and they tumbled off. The Krabs were advancing still firing madly.

"Quick, the tower — dah!"

As she disappeared, the faceless man stood up and darted towards the tower, clumsily dodging attacks as he went. As he reached directly in front of it, his arms outstretched, a laser crashed into his back and pushed him inside, skidding along the platform.

"Yeah!" Jeremy said.

"Hurry, Jeremy. Materialize him," Aelita said as she stepped out of the elevator, rubbing her head.

"Huh? But what about —?"

"Just do it, Jeremy. You said you wanted answers. This is our chance."

Jeremy hesitated, but then accepted the truth of her words. "Okay." And for the first time in months, he launched the program, "Code Earth."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

They all gathered around the scanner, watching as the doors slid open. Thick plumes of smoke wafted out of the interior, clearing a moment later to reveal a large old man, dressed in a thick, woolen shirt and dirty trousers; he had a head of thick, yet heavily greyed hair, dark brown eyes, and a deeply lined face. He peered up at them through a pair of dark spectators, smiling.

"Thank you," he said simply. "Thank you all."

Aelita was frowning at him, but not, it seemed, in puzzlement. "You look familiar."

"Yes, well . . ." said the man, looking uncomfortable. He stood up, brushed off his pants, and stretched. "I suppose I owe you an explanation. Where to start, where to start . . ."

"How about a name?" Ulrich said.

"Ah, of course. Thank you, Mr. Stern. My name is Harold Turner. You would not know me, but I am a friend of Franz Hopper — or, as he was known before, Waldo Schaeffer."

"How do you —" Aelita gasped. "You — you know my father's real name?"

"How could I not? Waldo is my oldest friend, after all. And I imagine I look familiar to you, my dear, because we have met before. You were very little at the time, though, so I doubt you'd remember."

"Okay, okay," Odd said, waving his arms. "How about we start from _the beginning_."

Harold Turner sighed deeply. "The beginning . . . yes . . . I knew your father for over twenty years," he told Aelita. "Our friendship began the moment I moved into the house next door his in a neighborhood in America, and blossomed steadily from there onwards. There was a natural pull. We were both exceptionally bright, and exceptionally talented with our fingers. Like you." He turned his twinkling brown eyes on Jeremy.

"Unfortunately, such gifts are coveted in a world such as this. Over ten years ago, Waldo and I were taken by a criminal group known as Nexus, after unveiling a project that we had started working on some time before. One that would make low-scale virtualization possible in our world.

"Of course, it was never meant to be done to the extent he has achieved here," he said, gesturing around at the scanners. Our original aim was more, drifting into a virtual reality through special goggles, or during sleep. Nexus, however, had other ambitions. They brought us to the Thalassa Base, whose heads they had partnered with, offering them great funding for their other projects, in return for assistance with their own.

"New Olympus, as you know. A virtual world created solely for the purpose of digitalizing soldiers, rematerializing them in their virtual forms back onto Earth, and then using them as the ultimate weapons.

"Unfortunately, as I'm sure you also know, that didn't go as planned."

"The generator blew up, and New Olympus was destroyed," Jeremy said.

"Mostly correct," Turner said. "The generator _did_ explode, but New Olympus was not entirely destroyed."

"What?" Mila gasped. "How do you know?"

"I know because _I_ am the one who rigged the generator to explode in the first place. They kept us for two long years, working bitterly. I was tired, desperate to escape, to see my family again. But — well, you've been to the Thalassa Base, you know perfectly well that you can't simply run away.

"Franz, on the other hand, was given a special opportunity. Nexus had made allies in other parts of the world, partnering with other corrupt laboratories to further other, more sinister, forms of research. One lab was close to figuring out a new form of technology that would help them, along with the superhumans, and they needed us to help move it along. So Franz was shifted to another location, and I was left at the Thalassa Base. He managed to escape — foolish, carless guards versus his wit? It was no surprise to anyone. He ran and ran, and didn't look back. It saddened me, but I didn't blame him. You see, it was a dark time for both of us, and we wanted nothing more than to go home. I was working on my own route to escape as well.

"It involved the generator. After studying the guards for several weeks, I learned their patterns, habits. I managed to outsmart them, get to the generator, and launched my plan. There wad only one way — New Olympus.

"So, I set up a kind of virtualization for my own. Unable to access the scanner pods, I overloaded the generator and caused it to release a wave of energy that would virtualize everything it came in contact with."

"But with the generator gone, how did you get to New Olympus?" Yumi said.

"And why weren't the other personnel with you?" Aelita asked.

"As I said, New Olympus wasn't _entirely_ destroyed. During the course of my planning, I managed to create a sort of pocket dimension, by transferring data from New Olympus to a secure point on the web, separate from New Olympus itself and maintained by a computer that I managed to get connected to in my old workshop with Franz. It was quite small, so it didn't require the immense processing power of a supercomputer. That is where I went, after the initial wave; the generator, however, continued to spike, and released another, more powerful wave that took the other inhabitants of the Base to New Olympus, where they were lost.

"Unfortunately, that pocket dimension I created was unstable, as your friends have now seen. And as I said, it was residing at a random point on the internet. I created a few safe points along the plane, similar to Lyoko's towers, where I _should_ have been able to set up contact with the real world. But I was never able to establish a proper connection. Until recently. Because of XANA."

"XANA helped you to set up a connection with us?" Ulrich asked in disbelief.

"Well, not deliberately. I am sure that you've been asking yourselves the same question over the past two months: _how did he survive_?"

The interest around the room sharpened palpably. Everyone waited with bated breath — was it finally going to be revealed? The way that XANA had managed to worm his way out of destruction yet again? The unseen crack he had slipped through?

"The same way I did," Harold said simply. "New Olympus,"

"I don't understand," Jeremy said. "You said New Olympus was destroyed, with the exception of your little pocket dimension."

"And it was. But as you are all aware, XANA spent several months, after escaping from your supercomputer, infecting base after base across the entire world, manufacturing devices that he could use to carry out his plans. He did a wide sweep of the network the moment he was released into the world. It's how he knew precisely where he could get what he needed. He is not a man, he does not tire, he has endless patience.

"He scoured the entire world, and in doing so, he discovered the Thalassa Base and its dark history. He also discovered what I had done. Only at that point, it had no meaning to him. A remote strip of a digital world randomly embedded somewhere along the network could prove no use to him. Yet.

"On the day XANA was supposed to have been destroyed, he managed to infect _my_ world. Severely weakened, nearly entirely destroyed, he only avoided total destruction by implanting what was left of himself into the remainder of New Olympus, where your program couldn't harm him."

They gaped at him, shocked. It was so simple, yet so brilliant.

"XANA’s resources are greater than mine," Turner continued. "It took quite a while, of course, but he managed to create a connection to the real world, through Lyoko. He siphoned energy directly from the heart of Lyoko and managed to create Xanadu, knowing, as I am sure you could have guessed, that if he had allowed himself to remain bound entirely to Lyoko, that you could dispose of him simply by shutting down the supercomputer again.

"He tethered himself to Xanadu and created a direct connection to Lyoko, so that he could travel freely from his safe space in New Olympus to the place where he could regain power from his enemies."

"But that doesn't make any sense," William said. "Why create Xanadu, why not just stay in New Olympus? We couldn't shut _that_ down from here, we didn't even know it existed until now."

"Haven't you been listening, Mr. Dunbar?" Harold asked calmly. "New Olympus was unstable. XANA's arrival made it worse. He _is_ a virus, after all. He sensed my presence, of course. Tried to destroy me, but his forces were diminished and New Olympus, as I said, had places that I could use to take shelter from him. I managed to evade him, then tapped into the line to Lyoko just long enough to supply you with the Thalassa Base folder, the energization program, and the key. I must admit, for a moment I feared that you would not be able to work out what I had intended." He was looking at Aelita and Jeremy. "But you did, and I couldn't be more proud. Franz Hopper's daughter and successor indeed!"

"So what are you going to do now?" Yumi asked. "Will you go back to your family?"

"If they are still around, then yes, in time. For now, I am needed here."

"You mean —" Aelita began, sounding hopeful.

"Yes. XANA needs to be destroyed, permanently. And I intend to help you do it."

They all beamed at him, but then William’s face fell.

"But what about . . . you know . . . Leo and Gabrielle?"

The two had not returned when they had been devirtualized, and now, as their names were mentioned again, the full blunt of their betrayal came back knife-sharp in their minds.

"I can't believe it, they were working for XANA the whole time!" Odd said angrily. "No wonder Kiwi snapped at them, we should have known!"

"Please," Harold said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice, "do not judge your friends too harshly. I — I must admit, today, I was able to engage more closely with XANA's personal data, and I saw his plans. I didn't understand until now, but XANA created two specters quite a while back. It was only now that I learned: he allowed them to take the form of your friends and sent them here to befriend you, get under your guard, relay information. I had no idea who they were before now, or that XANA would choose today to end his ruse."

"That's how XANA knew when you had supplied the key," Jeremy said. "He was watching through Leo and Gabrielle."

"It certainly seems so. But I can assure you, XANA is not capable of replicating human emotion to such an extent. Everything you felt with them, everything you saw — it was genuine. They are just as much victims as you are. Their memories, their very existence, were all fabricated by XANA, used as ploys to destroy his enemies. Do not blame them."

"He's right," Ulrich said quietly. "We met XANA when he was playing human before. He was always cold, distant. He was never capable of acting the way they did. Even if they aren't human, Leo and Gabrielle are still our friends."

"I agree," Aelita said. "It's the same as when William was under his control, as all those times when _I_ was possessed by the Scyphozoa. None of it was their fault. But it is our responsibility to help them."

"How?" Yumi said. "It took us months to save William, and even then he had only been possessed by XANA. Leo and Gabrielle were _created_ by him. For all the good it'll do, we might as well try to rescue a Kankrelat."

"It does finally explain why they weren't affected by the return trip even without being scanned on Lyoko," Aelita said. "XANA himself isn't affected by them, nor are his specters. But why didn't they disappear when they were devirtualized?"

"XANA must have developed a more sophisticated specter program," Jeremy said. "It's not that hard to imagine. Harold was right, his capabilities are far beyond ours. William threw himself into the Digital Sea dozens of times when he was under XANA's control, and he was never lost in the digital void. It's not going to be easy getting them out from under his control. But with your help, I'm sure we'll be able to," he said, looking at Harold and smiling.

Harold smiled in return. "Don't worry. I'll do all I can to help you save your friends. And your father," he added to Aelita, who nodded, her eyes rather misty.

"Well, we finally managed to get some answers," William said. "But at what cost?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay. I decided to partake in my first National Novel Writing Month challenge in November, but the book was much longer than I expected and I had to pause my other works to speed up the process. 
> 
> I only just finished that book yesterday. I had intended to update with three Resurgence chapters, but there was a slight mishap and I only have two, unfortunately. More will be uploaded ASAP.

The next few days felt oddly unreal. XANA attacks ran scarce during that period, which should have felt like a reprieve, but in the absence of Leo and Gabrielle, nobody felt as though there was anything to celebrate. It was the same situation with William all over again, except this time, though none of them would ever say it out loud, the impact was much worse, for they had actually gotten to know the Corentin siblings, were becoming quite close in fact. Yumi's words hung in Jeremy's mind the whole time as he worked, side-by-side with Harold Turner, who turned out to be just as gifted in computing as Jeremy had imagined him to be, though infinitely more patient.

Having decided that the best place for him to stay would be the factory, Yumi managed to sneak a few sheets and some of her father's old clothes from home to make his stay a little more comfortable, while Odd, Ulrich, Jeremy, Aelita, Mila, William, and Sissi would often bring back portions of their meals from the cafeteria to him.

Aelita, especially, seemed to be very glad to have him this close. She spent much more time at the factory than usual, at his side as he worked with Jeremy, asking questions about his and her father's shared past, which he was only too happy to answer. He had explained that Franz (though he only called him "Waldo" every time he mentioned him) had met Aelita’s mother, Anthea, while they were traveling the world doing research tor their small-scale virtualization project. Young, kind, and beautiful, with her long sheets of violet hair, both the younger Franz and Harold were taken with her the moment they had the fortune of laying eyes on her, in the coffee shop in which she worked, one rainy evening.

They amused themselves for a while, wondering which of the two could actually succeed in getting a date with her, though neither had ever really planned to approach her. But to Harold's immense surprise, he came to meet Waldo one evening at the shop, grinning broadly, having worked up the courage only minutes before to ask her out, and been met with an eager "yes."

"You wouldn't believe how happy he was, beaming all through the night, that ridiculous smirk was plastered across his face even while he was sleeping — you'll remember, of course, that we were renting together at this time, in order to meet the required sums. Your father and I had both taken part-time jobs at a local Tech Support. It wasn't much, but it was enough to get by, and Anthea loved it. She was fascinated by technology, you know, by programming, especially our virtualization tests. Yes, indeed. Waldo had begun to tutor her in private, as she had requested some 'in-depth' help. Obviously, we know how that turned out." He gave Aelita a twinkling look and tapped his nose. She giggled, a soft, innocent sound.

"Anyway, soon after we had to leave. We already knew that our stay was only temporary, and there was an up-and-coming scientist a few states over who was giving a presentation on virtual reality in a matter of weeks. We thought this would finally be our big break, you know?

"We were supposed to leave, but Anthea's mother, your grandmother, was very ill, and Anthea, who had to juggle her time between school, taking care of her, and working at the coffee shop, was feeling some strain. Waldo decided that he would stick around for a bit, help her out, but I had a feeling that even if Amelia _wasn't_ sick, he would have stayed anyway. So I went on to hear what our old friend across the country had to say — it was a bust, of course, the most he could have supplied was a mere _idea_ for virtual reality goggles and an extremely pompous manner — and then I returned home, where I was pleased, but not altogether surprised, to find that your grandmother had passed away, but during her final hours she had made it very clear how she felt about Waldo, and that she believed that Anthea should certainly marry him. And she did."

By now, Aelita had tears in her eyes, but she smiled as she wiped them away. "Thank you."

"Oh, no trouble, my dear girl. After all I've been through recently, I'm quite happy to relive the finer years of my life, and with such a willing audience too!"

At that moment, there came a loud blare of error from the supercomputer. Jeremy let out a grunt of frustration.

"Ugh, this is impossible! I'm never gonna get there!"

"Well now, you can't take that attitude," Harold said patiently, sliding Aelita’s laptop onto the floor and moving over to him. "I'm sure you've said it countless times in the past, but you've managed to complete every task you set your mind to thus far, haven't you? This will be no different. Perhaps you should take some rest — both of you. I'll take over for a while. It's nearly your bedtime, anyway."

Jeremy sighed. "Yeah, you're right." He slid out of the chair and joined Aelita. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night. Give the others my regards." He waved until they were out of sight in the elevator, at which point Jeremy said, "He seems very nice."

"Doesn't he?" said Aelita happily. "And all these stories he's telling me about my parents! It's wonderful having him."

They continued to compliment Harold as they made their way through the sewers, across the forest, and back to the dorms, where they found everyone gathered in Ulrich and Odd's room.

"Well?" Mila said avidly, looking up at them.

"Still nothing," Jeremy told her regretfully. Though they had all been worried about Leo and Gabrielle, she had seemed the most distraught of the bunch, which was understandable seeing that Gabrielle had been her best — and only — friend, for the past year. Though Jeremy was used to it by now, the sight of her deflated expression made him feel dejected. He was glad when Odd intervened with an encouraging, "Don't worry, Einstein, we know you're doing everything you can. We'll get them back somehow."

"Yeah," Mila said, now trying for a faint smile as she wiped a tear from her eye. "In the meantime, we'll just have to settle for the replacements."

When Leo and Gabrielle had not returned from Lyoko, they had been forced to accept the conclusion that, until they were able to free them from XANA's clutches, they would have to create two specters of their own to pass as the Corentin siblings at Kadic, in order to throw off suspicion. Harold had helped immensely with the process, and the end results were much better than Jeremy had expected with his assistance, almost exact copies of Leo and Gabrielle in terms of personality. But something was still off.

"Yeah. How's Harold anyway?" Yumi asked. "Settling in okay?"

"Oh, he's great," Aelita piped up, brightening at once. "He's brilliant, and so kind, and . . ." And she went off into a long, praising report of how Harold had been been helping Jeremy around the lab, taking a great weight off his immense workload, while simultaneously helping Aelita to become as close to her parents as possible through his thrilling tales of their past. By the time she had finished, night had fallen outside, signaling time for dinner, but the mood inside the dorm had brightened considerably in contrast.

"I have to get home now, see you guys in the morning," Yumi said as they left the room.

"I'll walk you to the gates," Ulrich said. Smiling, they both veered away from the group, who were calling "goodbyes" and "see-you-tomorrows", and started walking slowly across the grounds towards the school gates.

"Thank you for doing this," Yumi said.

"No problem, I wanted to.'

"I've been meaning to ask . . . Hiroki's behaving a lot nicer to me recently. He didn't rat me out to my parents, and he's acting . . . well, less bratty at home. What did you say to him?"

"Oh, I, uh . . . I can't really say," Ulrich said. "He made me swear not to."

"Well, whatever it is, thank you for it," she said, smiling again. "My parents are really cracking down on me at home and I'm glad that I've at least got Hiroki as an ally now."

"No problem," Ulrich repeated. Silence descended over them again as they continued to take deliberately slow strides towards the gates. When they arrived, Yumi said abruptly, "Ulrich, I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"Well . . . it's . . . No, forget it." She turned away.

"What is it, Yumi?"

". . . No, it's silly. Goodnight." She pushed open the gates. Ulrich grabbed her arm.

"Tell me," he said, his voice gentle.

Yumi took a deep breath. "Well . . . I was thinking . . . about . . . well, about us," she said, her face still turned towards the road.

Ulrich's eyes widened, his heart rate rose. "About us?" he stammered. He must have misheard her. "What about us?"

Yumi still didn't look at him as she spoke. "Maybe that . . . that I made a mistake," she said, in a voice barely more than a whisper. A car streaked by, flooding the area with light, and disappeared a moment later, so that darkness enveloped them again. "Now with XANA back, and everything else happening around us, like losing Leo and Gabrielle, it's forcing me to reevaluate some things in my life, and . . ." She stopped herself, but Ulrich didn't press her. He only watched her, expectant, hopeful. Could she be saying. . . ?

She wheeled around at last, her expression pained. "Do you think we made a mistake?"

"Yes."

The word was out of his mouth promptly, easily. He had expected the question, and the answer had risen to his lips with absurd ease, ready to be pulled away as smoothly as his sabers left their sheaths on Lyoko. Yumi looked shocked at his response, at the quickness with which it had come. But Ulrich meant it. Of course he did. He had always regretted the decision, yet was never able to find the right moment to bring it up. But, as if by some miracle, _she_ had approached him, _she_ had brought up the subject, and _she_ was now expressing doubts as to whether the decision had been the right one.

He dropped her hand and gazed steadily at her. She took the arm which he had held in her other, apparently without conscious thought, her fingers laced over the area he had touched. "Really?"

"I always have."

"So have I," she whispered. "I thought it would be a good decision at the time . . . because it was all so confusing, on top of everything else we had to deal with. But now I realize, maybe it was so confusing, because neither of us ever _actually_ addressed it." She gave a small, humourless chuckle. "The timing was always wrong, people were always getting in the way. . . . We never even had a proper date." She spoke the last sentence very quietly, avoiding his eyes once more as her pale face flushed. But Ulrich did not look away.

"And now?"

She looked up at him, smiling faintly; there was something in her eyes, more than the small glimmer of tears, more than the slight embarrassment she was feeling at the moment: there was a question, as clear as if it had been etched across her retinas, one with which he was very familiar, yet had never had the courage to ask. But this time. . . .

He took a great breath. "Will you —"

"Stern! Ishiyama! What's going on over there?!"

Ulrich growled in frustration. Tall, huge, and wearing his usual tracksuit, Jim Morales was storming over to them.

"Ulrich was just walking me to the gates, Jim," Yumi said as he halted in front of them. Her smile was gone; her expression was blank, withdrawn. Here it was, as she had said herself — somebody was always getting in the way. "I was about to head home."

"Well hurry up then, dinner just started and Stern here should be in the cafeteria."

Yumi was turning away, looking crestfallen. He was about to miss his opportunity — again.

"Yumi, wait," he said, his resolve hardening. She halted, hands on the gate. "Jim, can you give us another minute please?"

"Stern, you're supposed to —"

"Just a minute!" Ulrich snapped. Jim looked taken aback. But that was the least of Ulrich's worries. He seized Yumi's arm again and pulled her away with him, coming to a halt out of earshot of Jim, whose face was half-hidden in shadow. "Will you go on a date with me?" he said firmly.

Her eyes snapped up to his, brown and fierce and determined. A smile broke out across her face. "Yes."

Ulrich felt as if fireworks had erupted inside his chest, filling him with a crazy urge to start skipping and whooping in glee. Before he could say anything else to ruin the moment, however, he nodded and continued, "Then I'll see you tomorrow."

And, grinning broadly, he released her and strode triumphantly to the cafeteria.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What are you smiling about?" Odd said suspiciously, pointing his fork at Ulrich when he had joined them at the table, the meatball on the end like a weapon of admonition.

"Nothing," Ulrich said cheerfully, helping himself to his meal. Aelita, Jeremy, Mila, and William were all openly gaping at him too, wondering what could have passed between the pair when they had been walking to perk him up this much. "So what are we talking about?" he continued.

"Take a guess," William said gloomily. Ulrich's cheery demeanour evaporated.

"Leo and Gabrielle?"

Jeremy nodded. As he did so, Ulrich's eyes strayed towards the spectral replicas that they had created to replace them at Kadic, who were sitting two tables over, beside Sissi, who they had decided it was better she sat, as usual, with Nicolas and Herb, because it would look too suspicious if she suddenly abandoned them for their group.

"Do you really think you can do it, Jeremy?" William asked. "Get them back, I mean?"

Jeremy took his time chewing and swallowing a forkful of mashed potatoes before finally answering, "Truthfully, I have no idea . . . Yumi was right: you were somebody who XANA had simply taken control of on Lyoko, but Leo and Gabrielle — everything about them was manufactured by XANA. It's not like we're trying to find a program that would allow us to free them from his control, we'd need to be looking for a program that controls their very existence."

"I've been thinking about that," Aelita said. "And I think that may be the solution."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's like you said — William had been possessed manually through the Scyphozoa, so there was no need for XANA to do any work on him himself. But to create specters and have them take the forms we've come to know as Leo and Gabrielle . . . there has to be a tower involved, don't you think? A tower where the data for such a program would be stored?"

"I've been thinking about that too," Jeremy said slowly. "But it doesn't make any sense. If there _was_ such a tower, the Super Scan would've registered it the moment we linked it to Xanadu; it would have needed to remain active to continue projecting the specters."

Aelita had her answer ready.

"Not if the tower was hidden in a secure sector."

Odd froze, his fork suspended just an inch from his mouth. "Hang on, let me see if I got this correct. You think the tower we're looking for — if there _is_ a tower involved — is in, what, Xanadu’s version of Sector Five?"

"If that tower exists, then yes. Think about it, we had no idea that Sector Five existed until we stumbled across it last year. Nothing inside it had ever registered until we entered the password and broke through the encryption, because Sector Five exists separately from the four core sectors. And seeing that Xanadu has four core sectors itself . . ."

"It must have a 'Sector Five' too, somewhere where the essential programs, like the Core of Xanadu, could be kept safe," William said, with a look of dawning comprehension.

"Sounds like a good enough theory for me," Ulrich said. "But the thing is, last time we stumbled into Sector Five by _accident_ , and even then Jeremy had Franz Hopper's books to help him figure out the password. How on earth are we gonna do any of those things this time?"

"I've been thinking," Jeremy said again, though hesitantly this time.

"About what?" asked Mila.

"The Harbinger. XANA's most powerful monsters, but also, the only sentient ones. They have a direct link to XANA's personal data, they would be the easiest way to extract such sensitive information."

"Oh, Einstein, you genius!" Odd said, with mock admiration. "Why didn't we think of that before? All we have to do is ask nicely and I'm sure they'll stop trying to kill us long enough to point us in the right direction of XANA's new house on Xanadu!"

"I didn't say it would be easy!" Jeremy said, annoyed. "I have an idea — a possibly crazy idea, nothing more for now. But with some more research, it might come to something."

"Well anyway, that's tomorrow's business," Ulrich said, as Jim declared that it was time for bed at last. They cleared their table and carried the empty trays to the top table.

As they walked outside, Sissi appeared beside them. "So, is anyone going to tell me what's going on, or not?"

"We'll fill you in tomorrow," Jeremy said. "For now, there's something I need to check in my room before I turn in. I'll see you guys later."

Jeremy strode into the corridors leading to the dorms ahead of the group. He heard them calling "goodnight's" to one another, shouted a hasty farewell of his own, and hurried into his room. There he closed the door behind him and flung himself into the chair at his desktop, then began to type away.

The idea, as he had told them, was, to put it simply, crazy. Not to mention extremely dangerous, on top of being incredibly uncomfortable for Aelita, who would be the key to executing this plan. There was also the fact that the conditions required to carry out this plan were very specific, and likely could not be fulfilled all at once. It could certainly be counted on that the Harbingers would be present on Lyoko whenever they decided to go through with it — if they did — given that XANA had no doubt realized how much of a threat they really were by now. But the Scyphozoa was a different story altogether.

The last time they had seen it was when Harold had first tried to make contact with the team and materialized the encrypted data stream in which Jeremy had found the unfinished source code that had led to the creation of Code Zero, as well as information on the mysterious Thalassa Base. Perhaps they could try to generate another one, to be used as bait, to lure it onto Lyoko. But if this plan were to work, the Scyphozoa would then need to seek a different target entirely. . . .

Jeremy sighed. He was getting lost in increasingly nonsensical projections of an unobtainable situation, desperately trying to fit the pieces together, when really, the possibility of getting everything to fall into place would be next to impossible. Perhaps if he had Harold's help . . . Yes, he would ask him about it in the morning. . . . After bed. . . .

Jeremy's head started to sag. Just as his forehead hit the table, he jerked upright, rubbed his temple, heaved himself out of his chair, removed his glasses, and flung himself into bed. That would be tomorrow's problem.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always been able to picture Porphyrion's weapon inside my head, but I've never been able to find the right word to describe how it looks. I *finally* did so, a few weeks ago. Turns out that word was escutcheon, like a coat of arms. 
> 
> Secondly, I was trying to brainstorm ideas for Yumi and Aelita's upgrades for a *long* time, but there's nothing else I could come up with for Yumi that would seem realistic, or would fit in with her fighting style or the nature of her fans, so I had to stick with what was mentioned below. The same for Aelita. More chapters soon

Ulrich was in a state of high anticipation the next morning. He had awoken quite early, when the rays of sunlight streaming in through the window were still thin and pale, and laid in bed until it was time to shower, thinking only of what was to come later on. When the alarm clock chimed 6:00, he left the room, rousing Odd as he went, and made his way to the bathroom alone. He was the first to arrive, and as he entered a cubicle and turned on the pipe, so that the pleasantly warm water poured over his sleep-tense skin, he imagined what the rest of the day would be like.

Yesterday felt surreal; each time he thought back to what had happened at the school gates, he told himself that it must have been a dream, yet he could never remember his dreams as vividly as he could that scene.

Even now he pictured it again, and the scene reconstructed itself with unbelievable accuracy in his mind's eye: Yumi, pale and beautiful, hesitant and trepid, voicing the same thoughts that had been settling unpleasantly in his own mind for the past several months, yet which he had never had the courage to confront; himself, finally addressing the issue, responding with his true thoughts on the matter, his voice and gaze steady; Jim, approaching the pair the moment he meant to ask the question that he had foolishly avoided for so long, demanding that he return to the cafeteria. It seemed even comical now, in his moment of recollection. He remembered too the image of Yumi's face when he finally laid it out on her, as well as her answer to his question: "Yes."

Such a simple word, and yet the joy it had brought him had been immeasurable. But now, as he remembered back to last night, he realized that he had not set any conditions for today. He had not asked her whether she would like to see a movie or go into the town to grab some food, whether they should simply settle for a walk in the woods, or anything. He had been so desperate to get out of there before he could do anything to ruin the moment, or before she could change her mind, that he had completely left himself in the dark as to what Yumi would have wanted for today.

"Ulrich, you in here?"

Odd had just entered the bathroom. Ulrich was visited by a sudden savage and irrational urge to yell at him to get out while he contemplated what he was to do. But then a moment later he calmed himself, weighing the value of the current situation. If he, Ulrich, were to ask Yumi what it was that she would want for their first date, then the awkwardness of the situation would dawn on Yumi.

She would probably be so hurt or annoyed that he had not thought to ask, that he had not simply _known_ somehow what she would like, that she might call the whole thing off. But if he went in blind, simply sprang something on her in the moment, she may end up not liking it anyway. Yet if he sent Odd to do a little probing. . . .

No. Ulrich shook his head. Quite apart from the fact that Odd did not have any sense of subtlety and would probably blow the plan in a matter of minutes, Ulrich also did not care much for the storm of teasing that was sure to head his way should he inform Odd of what had made him so pleased the previous night.

"You okay, Ulrich? You look weird."

"Huh? Oh — no, I'm fine."

Odd shrugged and began to shower in the neighbouring cubicle. All right, perhaps not Odd. . . .

 _Aelita_. Yes, if Ulrich had to choose anybody to make such a request, it would be Aelita. While Ulrich highly doubted that she would be able to conceal the smug satisfaction she would no doubt be feeling upon hearing that Ulrich and Yumi were going to give it another chance, he knew that she would not be as obvious and taunting about it as Odd. Plus, she _was_ Yumi's best friend.

But again, he shot the idea down. He realized suddenly that he didn't want to bring any of their friends into the sphere of news just yet, in case, for whatever reason, the second attempt failed. So who else could he ask. . . ?

He racked his brains as he lathered and rinsed. And then it came to him.

He finished showering, then left with Odd for their shared bedroom, making forced conversation along the way to throw off his insistence that something was wrong. For the rest of that morning, straight through to their lunch period, Ulrich did not see any sign of Yumi, which he was glad for. At lunch time, he did not join the others on their way to the cafeteria, but pulled his quarry aside in order to make his request.

Jeremy, too, did not venture off to lunch. After checking to ensure that nobody was around, he slipped into the forest, descended through the secret passage and into the sewers, then made his way to the factory, where he immediately relayed to Harold, who had awoken at the sound of the elevator, the idea he had been considering in relation to obtaining the data they needed to save Leo and Gabrielle.

"Hmm . . . I don't think I need to say this, Jeremy, but that is quite the dangerous, irresponsible plan," Harold said calmly, his hands laced as he sat upon his spread of old sheets, looking over at Jeremy, who was sitting in his chair in front of the supercomputer.

"I know that," Jeremy said hastily. "Of course I do . . . but I can't think of anything else that we can do."

"Well . . . there is certainly some merit to be gained if it works," Harold said slowly. "But that is entirely dependent on whether we can manage to meet all the necessary conditions. This _Scyphozoa_ , tell me more about it."

"Its main purpose is to manipulate virtual data. Originally, XANA created it in order to procure the 'Keys to Lyoko' from Aelita’s memory, the Keys being the data that allows both Aelita and her father control over Lyoko's core programs. But it's able to perform other functions, as well. For one, it was capable of removing Yumi's DNA sequence code; it was able to take possession of William _and_ Aelita multiple times; and XANA once sent it to destroy our virtual ship in the same way that it tried to destroy your data stream."

"And you think it a good idea to let this creature attempt this kind of thing again?"

"I know the risks," Jeremy said. "But that's why I need your help now. Nothing will happen if we get the virus to work."

"Assuming that we do, there is also the problem of the Harbingers. I don't know much about them, but I'm quite sure none of them will simply sit back and allow themselves to be targeted. I'm sorry, but there are simply too many variables, and not enough ways to control them, Jeremy. I can certainly help you with the virus, but everything else is purely a matter of chance."

"Then we'll take it one step at a time," Jeremy said. "For now, the virus."

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Ulrich was standing under the arches of the corridor a short ways from the dormitory, restlessly pacing back and forth and muttering to himself. A moment later, she came striding into view, her dark hair bouncing as she walked.

"Hi," Ulrich said breathlessly, rushing forward to meet her. "So?"

"It was a little tricky," Mila said. "I could tell she was getting suspicious, but I managed to wheel the conversation around and she let something slip to me."

"Well, what is it?"

"I . . . don't really think she wants a date?" she said tentatively.

"Huh?" Ulrich cocked an eyebrow, confused. "But that doesn't make any sense. Last night, I asked her —"

"If she wanted to go out, yes, but what I think she meant earlier was, she doesn't want anything over the top, nothing overly romantic. No roses, no movies, no fancy restaurants, that kind of thing."

"So what am I supposed to do then?" Ulrich said, slightly desperately.

Mila laughed. "You've known Yumi far longer than I have. I'm sure you'll figure it out." She smiled, patted his shoulder gently, and moved away, leaving him alone with a storm of thoughts swirling violently in his mind.

Odd, however, was perfectly cheerful as he sat with William, Yumi, and Aelita in the cafeteria.

"Where're Einstein, Mila, and Ulrich?" he asked, looking around.

"Jeremy went over to the computer lab when lunch started," Aelita said. "I think he went to ask Harold for help with some new program that he's working on."

"You didn't want to go with him?" William asked.

"Of course I did. But I don't think he really needs my help. In fact, he's made it pretty clear he doesn't want me involved. Plus, I think Harold is probably tired of me by now," she added, laughing.

"And I talked to Mila a few minutes ago. She'll probably be here soon," Yumi said. "I don't know where Ulrich is, though."

"Speaking of Ulrich," William piped up, his voice slightly muffled by the immense load of food in his mouth, "he came back looking really pleased about something last night. What did you two talk about?"

"Oh — I — uh —" Yumi stuttered, suddenly flustered.

"Come to think of it, he's been acting weird all morning too," Odd said, his eyes narrowed at Yumi. "What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing," Yumi said, a little too quickly.

"Well, _that's_ not a tone of voice an innocent person would use."

Sissi had just appeared at their table, watching Yumi with the same suspicious expression as everybody else.

"Sissi! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Nicolas and Herb? You know — so it doesn't look too —"

"Suspicious?" Sissi sank down into the seat beside William. "Well, Yumi, darling, I don't think anyone's going to be looking at _me_ when they see the way _you're_ acting. Why don't you tell us what's going on? We _are_ your friends, aren't we?"

Yumi mouthed soundlessly like a fish out of water, but fortunately, was saved the necessity of answering by the timely arrival of Mila.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," Yumi said, barely concealing her relief at this second sudden appearance. "We were just wondering where you were — but here you are now. Well, I'm finished, and I have a big Spanish test to prepare for next session," Yumi said, picking up her tray of barely touched food, and she rushed out of the cafeteria before anyone could say another word.

She paused just outside to catch her breath. She did not know why she had reacted so strongly, why she did not want them to know, when it had been painfully obvious last year of what went on between her and Ulrich. Perhaps it was best, she reasoned with herself, not to let them know just yet. A part of her wanted to see the where the situation with Ulrich went first before letting anybody know, and another part of her wanted to keep him to herself as long as she could.

"Yumi?"

She looked up. Ulrich had appeared in front of her, so suddenly that it was as though he'd sprung from the ground. She felt her lips curl involuntarily into a smile.

"Hey, Ulrich."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Just wanted to get to class early."

"Right. Listen . . ." He looked nervous. "About last night. Do you — do you still —"

"Yes," Yumi said promptly. "I do still want to go out with you. But now that I think about it, we never really finalized anything last night, did we?"

Ulrich looked at her, surprised. He had been hoping to find some subtle way of steering the conversation in this direction, but here she was, doing it on her own, just like last night.

"Yeah," he said, with a small smile. "Jim can be a real mood-killer, huh?"

"My parents won't be home until eight this evening, and Hiroki's going to sneak out with Johnny to see Wheelchair Zombies Five. Maybe you could come over and we could watch a movie or something?" Her voice was quite steady, but her cheeks were blazing with colour now.

"Okay, great . . ." Ulrich said. "So I'll —"

But before he could finish the sentence, his mobile rang. He pulled it out and in his irritation that they kept being interrupted answered somewhat curtly: "Yes, Jeremy?"

"Ulrich, XANA's just launched an attack! Can you round up the others and meet us at the factory?"

"Yeah, everyone's in the lunchroom right now," said Ulrich, who could see them at their usual table through the side windows. "I'll get them. Be there as soon as we can."

He hung up and turned to Yumi.

"XANA attack?"

"Yeah, Jeremy needs us all at the factory right away. So . . ."

But he broke off, and a brief, slightly awkward pause ensued.

"Well, let's go then," Yumi said.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Within minutes, they had rallied the others and were racing across the bridge towards the factory. They seized the black ropes extending from the ceiling and swung down to the elevator, then rode down to the computer lab to find Jeremy and Harold, both looking uneasy.

"We got here as fast as we could," Odd said, his chest heaving. "Didn't see any specters or mutant creatures on the way. Are you _sure_ XANA's attacking?"

"Positive, Mr. Della Robia," Harold said.

"The tower's been activated on Xanadu, in the Sea Sector," Jeremy explained.

"Been a while since XANA's operated on Xanadu," Mila said. "Seems a little odd."

"It does. Which is why I'm sending you in right now. Hurry, to the Scanner Room."

"Maybe it would be best if somebody stayed here. After all, we still don't know what XANA's attack could be. He could be aiming for the factory," William said.

"I agree," Mila said. "I'll stay with William."

"All right, then, Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Aelita, and Sissi, off to Lyoko."

Sissi looked extremely disappointed, but followed the others to the Scanner Room without complaint as Jeremy worked to set up the virtualization program. When they had arrived and were settled in the scanners, Jeremy started the process: "Transfer, Ulrich! Transfer, Odd! Transfer, Yumi! Scanner, Ulrich! Scanner, Odd! Scanner, Yumi! _Virtualization_!"

Their digital profiles loaded completely, then the holomap of Sector Five sprang open, detailing that Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich had successfully landed in the Arena. Aelita and Mila promptly followed, and they started on their way to the Celestial Dome, Jeremy tracking their progress all the while: through the Core Zone, along the elevator, and finally at the ledge of the Dome.

He programmed the vehicles when they arrived, and Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita assumed their places at the helm of their vehicles, Sissi sidling uo behind Ulrich on the Overbike.

"Here we go," Odd said. They sped off towards the glowing access in the distance, then filed into the tunnel, and after flying the length of the reddish-gold passage, emerged into the vast, crystal-based, labyrinthine structure of Xanadu's Cave Sector.

"Jeremy," Ulrich called.

"I'm already working on it," replied Jeremy, who was typing on his keyboard again. "The Way Tower is due north from your position."

"Got it," Yumi said, and they all took to the air again, zooming through the wide, high-ceilinged caves. The crystalline structure glittered on either side of them, their oddly contorted reflections rippling as they moved. They passed at least two neutral towers as they streaked through the immense tunnels, until, after directed onto the right path upon coming up on an intersection, the Way Tower swam into view. They flew directly into the black, bulging base, soared downwards, and experienced the peculiar, yet smooth sensation of changing direction so that they were now gliding upwards, until they reached the intended platform and burst out into the Sea Sector.

Virtual water surrounded them on all sides, encased in a massive, glittering bubble, with strips of digital plants blooming out of the black, mossy rocks.

They flew onwards for another few minutes, then Aelita said, "I can see a tower in the distance," pointing straight ahead.

"That's it, Aelita," Jeremy told her. "But be careful, there are monsters around the base."

"Wow, isn't that a surprise," Ulrich said sarcastically. As they neared the tower, they could make out more clearly the guards that had been posted around it: all three Harbingers, mounted upon what must be a new kind of monster, given that they had never seen them before.

"Are those — _whales_?" gasped Yumi.

The creatures were enormous, large enough to comfortably hold the weight of each Harbinger, with flat, square heads and a portion of flesh, branded with the sign of XANA, protruding from their snouts, above fiece, glowing red eyes. An eerie wailing sound was drifting towards them across the water, as though the whales were singing.

"Looks like XANA's been busy — again," Ulrich said. "This is gonna be a tough one. Sissi, you wait here wih Aelita. Yumi, Odd, and I will try to lure the Harbingers away, and when the coast is clear, the two of you go. As long as you reach the tower, it doesn't matter what happens to us."

Aelita nodded, swooped up beside him, and drew behind them as Sissi jumped onto the Overrose, both of them watching as the trio approached their monstrous opposites.

"Here we go!" Odd said excitedly.

They plunged forward, then veered away in different directions, and all three Harbingers followed.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The whales were surprisingly fast for their size. Yumi sped along through the roiling currents on the Overwing, aiming to lure Altaea as far away from the tower as possible. She glanced back just in time to see a jet of scarlet light flying towards her: Yumi veered to the right and the blast streaked past her and disappeared into the water ahead. Now deciding that she had put enough distance between them and the tower, Yumi wheeled around and started moving directly towards the Harbinger. Altaea, of course, would obviously be more dangerous than the whale, so it would make more sense to target her first. But the whale was her transport. If Yumi simply managed to destroy it, Altaea would have a much harder time maneuvering through the water, which would make it easier to destroy _her_. The trouble was her paralysis ability, which would make it harder to get close to her, and which would likely result in the loss of her weapons even if she attacked from a distance if she froze them mid-strike.

As she closed in on the monsters, the whale opened its mouth — and Yumi saw, protruding from the wall of its mouth like some kind of strange tongue, a gigantic blaster of some sorts, surrounded by rows of thick, sharp teeth.

Yumi gasped; the blaster was charging energy, similar to a Megatank, but much faster. A split second later, a blast of energy erupted from its mouth and shot straight towards her with surprising speed. Once again she swooped out of the way, but —

"Yumi, behind you!" Jeremy's voice shouted in alarm.

Yumi whirled around and saw, to her horror, that the whale's projectile blast had changed direction as well, and was now shooting towards her like some kind of bizarre torpedo. Yumi redoubled her grip upon the Overwing's handle and zoomed off, and the torpedo followed. She wove around boulders, dipped and rose in rapid, jerky succession, even wended her way through an arch of coral, but the projectile kept to her all the while, Altaea gliding along behind her, laughing that awul, jeering laugh of hers. Yumi glanced around and saw a bubble rising in the distance, and a sudden idea formed in her mind.

She surged towards the bubble, which was floating serenely upwards, and closed in on it. Twenty feet . . . ten feet . . . five feet —

She flew into the bubble, fully intending to escape through the other side and hoping that the torpedo would explode upon contact with the bubble, but before she could leave, the torpedo had collided wih the side of the bubble and exploded. Yet the blast had not damaged the bubble in any way; it continued to elevate steadily, Yumi still inside it, perched on the Overwing, and Altaea continued to approach her, no longer laughing, but growling in fury.

Yumi burst out of the bubble and hurled both fans. The first streaked towards the giantess from her right; Altaea flung out a hand and fired a bolt of energy, which collided with the weapon, stopping it dead in the water. But the second streaked across her left and struck the arm in which her huge mace was clasped, knocking it out of her hands and into the gloom with a hiss of pain.

The second fan returned to her hand as she approached the whale, swooping past to collect the second as she moved, but the whale fired again, this time launching three torpedoes in succession. All three of them flew through the water, soaring at Yumi from different sides.

She surged onwards, trying to put as much distance between her and the projectiles as possible, hoping that another bubble would bloom from the seafloor once more. But none came. What did flash across her vision, however, was a flash of bright purple. Odd had swooped past her, aiming at the torpedoes, and the arrows that he had fired collided with the frontmost blast, causing it to erupt into a surprisingly large explosion of white light.

"Einstein, it's tough goings over here. We could really use some help. How about those new upgrades you've been working on, huh?"

"Odd, those upgrades have never been tested —" Jeremy protested, but Ulrich, who had also whizzed into their line of view, being chased by Porphyrion, who was raining energy waves upon him, cut across him:

"What better time than the present, Jeremy?"

Yumi, Ulrich, and Odd all soared in sequence, flying side-by-side, heading back towards the tower, where yet another whale had appeared, fending off Aelita and Sissi, with all three Harbingers behind them.

"We've got nothing to lose over here, Jeremy," Yumi said.

Jeremy, who had tensed in his chair, looked around at Harold, William, and Mila, for reassurance or support he was not sure: all three nodded.

Jeremy sighed. "Okay." He started to type again, the keys clicking loudly as Jeremy pulled up the programs that he had been working on for the past few weeks. After almost a minute, he took a deep breath, and tapped enter.

"Okay, it's done."

"Cool," Odd said. He sent the Overboard shooting upwards to avoid another blast of Orion's Shadow Scale. "How does it work?"

"In your case, Odd, I created codes for three new types of arrows. You can use each code up to three times. To activate them, all you have to do is concentrate on firing an arrow the way you usually would, but also activating the Voice Activation commands for the codes by saying the name of the intended arrow out loud. The new types are Incendiary Bolts, Poison Quills, and Stunning Darts."

"Cool!" Odd repeated, with much more enthusiasm. He turned back towards his assailant, the leering Orion, and shouted, " _Incendiary Bolt_!"

An arrow flew from his knuckles, spinning through the water as it shot towards the Harbinger. The whale on which he was perched plunged downwards, but it was too large: the arrow connected with its paddle-shaped tail before it could whip out of sight, and it exploded — a blazing inferno erupted from the point of contact, subsuming the whale's tail, so that it screeched and writhed in agony, nearly sending Orion toppling off.

" _Woah_!" Ulrich cried.

"And you, Ulrich. Try to intercept one of Porphyrion's energy blasts."

Ulrich did not hesitate, but promptly wheeled around and sped off in Porphyrion's direction. Another wave of energy flew at him, but instead of dodging, he heaved one of his sabers from the scabbard mounted on his back and sliced at the inbound wave as though aiming to cleave it in half. The blade swept through the blast as easily as if it was water, and as Ulrich flew through it, the blade absorbed the energy from the blast, charging green.

And, as he remembered the upgrades that XANA, disguised as Franz Hopper, had once programmed for them, Ulrich became aware of what he was to do now: he swung.

Three shurikens, each almost as large as Yumi's fans and constructed from that same bright green energy, flew from the saber. They whizzed lethally through the water, heading straight towards Porphyrion. The Harbinger looked shocked for only a moment, then he placed the blades of his enormous swords together, reconstructing his vast, escutcheon-shaped shield, and deflected the first two shuriken, but the third flew over his head and pierced the protruding mark of XANA on his whale's snout. The mount exploded, and the Harbinger tumbled out of sight, his huge arms flailing pitifully.

"Your turn, Yumi," said Jeremy, who sounded extremely smug now. "I added a little something to your fans, for more reach."

Curious, Yumi said, "Well, let's test it out, shall we?" and turned, soaring towards Altaea, who was still hurling jets of light. She dodged them all, flicking her wrists as she went, so that her fans appeared in each hand. She unfolded one, dodged another burst of scarlet energy and, still grasping the fan tightly by the sticks, flashed it in Altaea's direction: a crescent-shaped gust of wind flew from the leaves and rippled through the water. It slammed into the Harbinger's chest and knocked her off the whale, sending her flying into the gloom after her brother.

The whale responded immediately, shooting another torpedo, but Yumi brandished both fans, waving them in a windmill-like motion, so that a rippling cyclone of digital wind appeared in front of her. The torpedo hit the miniature storm and exploded, but the blast was almost entirely consumed by the gust.

Yumi made a noise of amazement, gazing down at the fans in adoration. "You're incredible, Jeremy."

"Thanks," said Jeremy. "Aelita, I programmed something for you too."

"Really?" said Aelita, who was still struggling with her own whale, as Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich went off to finish their battles against the other Harbingers, bolstered by their newfound abilities.

"Yep. Go on, try it out!" Jeremy said excitedly.

Aelita turned to Sissi, who was still clutching at her waist, looking terrified, and said, "Can you steer for a moment?"

Sissi nodded, though she looked as though she would rather do anything else. Aelita jumped off of the Overrose and swiped her star-shaped band: her glowing wings sprouted at once and she swooped upwards, pulling back a small distance while the whale changed direction, now targeting Sissi. At Jeremy's instruction, she placed the palms of her hands together, as though she were praying, and slowly pried them apart. A ball of energy bloomed in the small space between her hands, growing larger with every second, simultaneously stretching as though it were an elastic band; a second later it snapped, and she was left holding two rings of swirling pink energy in both hands. Concentrating on the whale that was still tormenting Sissi, she raised both arms and watched as the rings flew from her hands, similar to the hoops of fire that Bloks sometimes launched. The first missed the whale entirely, but the second expanded in size as it collided with its blue-grey skin, progressively dilating until it encircled it completely.

And, just as XANA had once tried to destroy the Skid in the Replika of Sector Five, energy radiated outwards from the walls of the ring and struck the paralyzed whale, twice, in quick succession. The whale cried out in anguish, then it exploded.

"Wow," Sissi breathed, pulling up beside Aelita. "Hey, Jeremy, did you . . . I don't know, have anything for me?" she added hopefully.

"Er — sorry, Sissi, but to tell you the truth, I don't know enough about your current abilities to try to improve them in any way," Jeremy said apologetically. Sissi’s face fell.

Aelita, smiling slightly now at the look of comical disappointment on Sissi's face, took off towards the tower. She soared inside and landed in the center of the platform, then rose upwards, enveloped in a pleasant blue light, and touched down lightly on the upper level. The tower's interface appeared in front of her and she pressed her hand against it.

The word "Aelita" flashed across the page, immediately erased and replaced by the words "Code Lyoko."

"Tower deactivated," she said, as the data files in the tower slid down into the lower level and out of sight. "Are you going to launch a return to the past, Jeremy?"

"Hmm . . ." Jeremy sat back in his chair, thinking. As it was, even though William and Mila had remained behind in the event that XANA targeted the factory, they were yet to see any indication of a physical attack. A return to the past would be, it seemed, unnecessary. Perhaps that was what XANA even wanted, luring them to Lyoko in order to trigger more returns to the past, to help him boost his power to what it was before Jeremy's multiagent program had nearly destroyed him.

"No," he decided. "I don't think we need one. I'm bringing you all back in."

Odd made a noise of disappointment. Ulrich said, "Oh come on, Jeremy, just a little longer."

"You can try out your new toys with the Harbingers again later," Jeremy said, though he was chuckling. "Playtime's over. Materialization."

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"Those new upgrades are fantastic, Einstein!" Odd said, as they ambled into the Lab, the elevator doors closing behind them. "Really fantastic, especially seeing that XANA is continuing to create new, more powerful monsters."

"Yeah, those whales are a nasty piece of work," Ulrich said. "Huge, fast, and those heat-seeking torpedos, too."

"Don't forget the acid fog blowholes," Yumi said dispassionately. "And that's just what we've encountered today. We can only imagine what else XANA has in store for us. By the way, Odd," she added, as an aside, "what do you think we should call our new monsters? 'Whales' is a bit too plain for my taste."

"I've been thinking about it, and I've decided we should call them Orkas. You know, like 'Orcas,' killer whales, but with a _k_ , you know."

"Not bad," William said. "Wish I could have seen those Orkas," he added grumpily.

"Anyway, going to back to Yumi's point about what else XANA has in store for us," Jeremy said, with a bite of impatience. "I still don't understand what the point of today's activated tower is. He didn't send any specters, didn't try to whip up another doomsday storm, or anything. It's all pretty fishy — no pun intended."

"Maybe he just didn't have the time to try anything," Mila said. "I mean, we _did_ get the alert pretty quickly. Then of course he had his hands full on Lyoko. Maybe he just isn't that good at multitasking these days."

"I don't know. I can't shake the feeling that something else is going on."

"Well, when you figure it out, let us know, will you? I'm heading back to school," Odd said. "Mrs. Hertz told me that if I miss another Chemistry lesson I'd be doing detention for three hours in the Library."

There was another brief pause. "Yeah, you're right," Jeremy said. "I'm just being paranoid. Besides, if anything _does_ happen, Harold is here to warn us."

"Indeed, I am," Harold said. "You kids head on back to school, I'll stay here and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

They agreed to this course of action and took their leave. But even as they made their way back to the school, Jeremy couldn't help but feel that something wasn't right.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I'm still alive! I'm sorry I've been inactive so long, but I can promise that I haven't abandoned this serial (there's still much more to tell 😉), but I've kind of fallen back and have been trying to update several stories at once to make it easier to catch up. 
> 
> Unfortunately, this story's chapters usually turn out longer than any other I do, so I'm not finished yet (hopefully by the weekend). But I'm going to post the first of the three since it's been so long.

The rest of the day passed without much excitement, unless you counted Nicolas melting a petri dish during Chemistry class and being rewarded with a fifteen minute lecture from Mrs. Hertz and two hours detention in the library. Dinnertime, however, was a particularly excitable affair, seeing as Yumi (who had once again decided to stay over, along with Hiroki, until dinner had concluded), Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita were still in awe of their new abilities, and eager to test them out again on the newer models of XANA's monsters. Sissi and William looked rather glum while they listened to them yet again recounting what had happened on their earlier mission, though Jeremy had already explained to both that he needed more information on their abilities in order to expound on them.

Mila, on the other hand, seemed as lost in thought as Jeremy himself was. Today's attack seemed entirely pointless, he reflected, twisting his spoon aimlessly through his dinner. Why would XANA have gone through all the trouble of activating a tower, luring them to Xanadu, and engaging in a fight involving all three Harbingers, without any form of tangible attack on Earth?

Had it just been to display the new monsters? Or had Mila been right, and XANA had simply not had the time to execute his plans?

"I'm going off to bed," Jeremy announced suddenly, more loudly than he had intended, cutting off Odd and Ulrich's heated debate about whose upgrades were more effective.

"Already?" said Aelita, who looked as shocked as everyone else. "Jeremy, Jim hasn't even called lights-out yet."

"I know, I'm just not very hungry." Jeremy stood up and slid his tray over to Odd, whose eyes immediately moved down to the bountiful portion of mashed potatoes present on the tray as though magnetically attracted. "See you guys in the morning."

With a vague wave, he turned and strode out of the cafeteria. There was a brief pause as they watched his bright gold head bounce out of sight. Then Ulrich said, "That was random."

"I don't really think so," Aelita said. She stood up too. "I'm going to go talk to him. Here you go, Odd." She passed him her own tray: there was rather less food on it than Jeremy's, but Odd happily swooped upon the remainder as he had done with Jeremy's. Aelita hurried out behind him, her vivid pink hair blowing wildly about her head as she ran.

"Jeremy, wait!"

She caught up with him halfway down the dorm corridor. He turned to her, hands in his pockets and shoulders hunched in that characteristic manner of his, blinking at her in surprise. "What is it, Aelita?"

"I — I just wanted to know if you were all right," she said.

Jeremy's tense demeanour softened. "I'm fine," he said, with a small smile. "Just . . . thinking."

"About what happened earlier?"

"Or what _didn't_ happen," Jeremy said. "What is XANA planning? Why did he go through all that trouble to get us on Lyoko, if he wasn't going to launch an attack in the real world?"

"I don't know," Aelita said truthfully. "But there's no use beating yourself up about it. Maybe it was nothing. But if it wasn't, then we'll figure it out later," she said, taking his hands. "Together."

His smile returned, wider this time. "Okay." He hesitated, his face clouded once more with an expression of unease.

"Are you okay?"

"Aelita, there's something I need to tell you," he said anxiously. "It's about my plan to get Leo and Gabrielle back."

"So you've found something at last?" Aelita said, her demeanour changing drastically. Her utter delight at the possibility that he had made an advancement in the process of rescuing their friends made Jeremy feel even more guilty at that the plan entailed.

"Well, yes, but —"

He was cut off by a random, sharp clicking noise. He and Aelita paused and turned around. The same noise rang out again, several times in sequence. It was coming from around the corner.

"What is that?" Aelita whispered. Jeremy put a finger to his lips and grasped her arm, then pulled her down the other end of the corridor. Safely out of sight, they glanced around the wall and saw, with a thrill of shock, a small machinoid creature clattering across the tiled floor like a miniature Kankrelat. It seemed to be composed of a number of random utensils, with its most prominent feature being a long-nosed camera extending from its front: it was swiveling around like some kind of bizarre eye.

Aelita gasped. "What is that thing?" she said, sounding terrified. The machinoid suddenly stopped and swerved in their direction. With a speed he had not known he possessed, Jeremy pulled Aelita backwards out of sight before it could spot them. The machine hesitated, as though unsure if it had really seen something, but then it began to move down the corridor towards them.

They listened to it drawing closer, and the moment it appeared in front of them, Jeremy flung out his leg and launched a swift, powerful kick which sent it flying into the wall. The scope-like lens which it had been using to see broke off on impact, but Jeremy was sure what the symbol that had briefly flashed across its surface had been.

"Come on!" Jeremy said urgently to Aelita, and he grabbed her hand again and rushed off back down the way they had entered, leaving the feebly stirring machinoid behind them. "We have to get back to the lunchroom!"

"Is it XANA?" Aelita asked.

"Sure looks like it," said Jeremy. "I saw the symbol, it was — agh!"

Jeremy halted abruptly, facing the doorway. A number of other machinoids were approaching them from the outside, some of them as small and mismatched as the one he had just destroyed had been, others much larger and far more menacing-looking.

"This way!" Jeremy and Aelita darted off down the other end of the hall, while the robots spilled inside like a great mechanical tide.

"I knew it, I knew there was something else going on!" In the face of present events, Jeremy felt a storm of emotions, satisfaction prominent among them, in the confirmation that their old foe was still more or less the same as he had always been.

"But we deactivated the tower, how can he have done this?" Aelita demanded.

They veered down another corner and Jeremy rushed into the first unlocked room they found, which belonged to a tenth-year student in William and Yumi's class, whose baggy clothes were always the same shade of green and who was never to be seen without a pair of fluffy headsets.

"Hey, what are you doing in my room?" he said lazily, as if he were dazed.

Jeremy ignored him. He pressed his ear ares gains the door, listening to the army of robots marching past. Their footfalls were distant, which told him they had not realized which way they had turned.

"I think they're gone," he said, turning back to Aelita. "But I'm sure they'll be blocking the exists. That's if they don't find us first."

"I'll text the others," Aelita said, but Jeremy shook his head.

"No, XANA undoubtedly has some gruesome plan in store for us, meaning you're needed on Lyoko, urgently. I'll cause a distraction, and you go out to meet the others."

"Jeremy!" Aelita said, shocked.

"We don't have time to argue, Aelita," Jeremy said firmly. "I'll be fine as long as you get to the tower and launch the return to the past in time. Don't worry about me."

Aelita did not respond. Her head was bowed, her eyes closed, and she was thinking furiously. At last she said, grudgingly, "Okay."

"Then get ready." He opened the door slightly, so that a sliver of the outside walls came into view. The line of robots was still walking aimlessly at the end of the hallway directly in front of them. Jeremy turned back to Aelita, his eyes stern, though he was inwardly terrified. "As soon as the coast is clear, run, and _don't_ look back."

"Be careful," she said.

Jeremy nodded, took a deep breath, and then darted outside. "Hey! Hey, what are you tin cans waiting for, I'm over here!" he screamed, waving his arms madly. The robots turned at the sound of his voice and rushed towards him. He bolted off down the side corridor, his ears full of the metallic clanking and beeping emanating from the pursuing crowd.

Aelita peered through the small crack in the door, then when the last robot had cleared away, flung open the door and dashed outside, gesturing at the boy whose room they had intruded to follow. He stared at her, clearly bewildered, then shook his head and ran out behind her.

She hurried outside, her thoughts on Jeremy, when a sudden scream caused her to halt in her tracks. She looked around and saw the students in the cafeteria spilling out onto the school grounds, desperately trying to flee, while more of the machines gave chase.

"Aelita!"

It was Ulrich's voice. She wheeled around, searching for the source, and saw Ulrich, Yumi, and Mila coming towards her.

"What's going on?" she asked, running to meet them.

"No idea, these things just showed up out of nowhere," Yumi panted, indicating the machines.

"I don't understand, didn't we deactivate the tower?" Ulrich asked.

"There's something else going on, we have to get to the factory." Aelita paused as something dawned on her. "Where are Odd, William, and Sissi?"

"They stayed behind to help the others to safety," Mila explained. "They wanted us to get to the factory."

"Then we have to hurry." Aelita turned and darted off towards the forest; the other three followed. "Jeremy's alone too, being chased by an entire group of them. And — oh!" She gasped. "I completely forgot — Harold!"

"Try to contact him through the supercomputer," Yumi said.

"On it."

Aelita pulled out her phone and dialed the line. It went for several rings, but no one answered. "He's not picking up," she said anxiously.

"Looks like Einstein was right all along," Ulrich said. They had reached the manhole which concealed the hidden passage into the sewers. As Ulrich moved it aside, he heard more clicking, the sound of leaves being trampled, as a new crowd of monsters began to approach them from behind.

"Hurry!" Yumi whispered. One by one they descended into the tunnel, and once they were all inside, they grabbed their skateboards and sped off. They rode the length of the sewers, then came up to the other end of the hidden passage. Ulrich in the lead, they climbed up to the bridge.

The city beyond the bridge was in chaos. Screams of terror pierced the night, car horns were blaring, and they could hear more metallic whirring.

"They got out of the school," Aelita said despairingly.

"Then we don't have any time to lose," Yumi said firmly. "Come on."

They swung down to the elevator, and after it had clattered upwards to their level, they moved inside and rode down to the Lab. As the door opened, Aelita, Yumi, and Mila all gasped.

Harold was being pinned to the holoprojector in the center of the room by a massive, mechanical arm. One hand was clutching desperately at the fingers trying to crush his throat, and his glasses were askew. In the robot's other hand were live wires that had clearly been torn from the floor of the Lab, judging by the site of damage beside the computer. Mila and Aelita screamed, but Yumi and Ulrich quickly exchanged looks, nodded, and advanced on the momentarily distracted robot from both sides. It dropped Harold at once and turned, holding the wires aloft like a garden hose. It flung out an arm at Ulrich, but he jumped to avoid it and slammed a foot into its chest, causing it to stumble. Yumi aimed a kick at its knee, which seemed to be composed of a few cellphones and a headset, and it shattered. The robot stumbled again, and Yumi seized her chance: she wrenched the wires out of its hand and thrust them into its chest, turning away from the blaze of sparks that erupted at the moment of contact.

At last the robot fell still; a second later it crashed heavily against the factory floor, a giant hole burned into its chest.

"Nice one, Yumi," Ulrich said. They smiled at each other, momentarily detached from the grim scene unfolding around them, until Mila and Aelita darted past to help Harold up.

He groaned loudly. Aelita peered at his arm.

"You're bleeding!"

It was true: the left side of his light blue dress shirt was stained scarlet.

"Ah, so it appears, yes," he said, before erupting into a storm of coughing. "Don't worry about me, I'll be all right. Thank you, Ulrich, Yumi. If you hadn't been here, then . . ." He did not finish the question. He did not need to.

"Harold, there are more like this one," Mila said, pointing at the lifeless robot. "A lot more. They've invaded the school, and some even got out into the city. Did you notice anything odd on Lyoko?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Harold said. "An active tower in Xanadu's Swamp Sector, but before I had the chance to contact any of you, I heard some strange noises. By the time I switched to the cameras to see what was happening, the robot was upon me."

"More are sure to be heading here," Ulrich said. "We heard some when we were coming up to the secret passage. You guys head to Lyoko, I'll stay with Harold."

"Be careful," Yumi said.

"Don't I always?" Ulrich said, with a wry grin.

Mila and Yumi, smiling in return, headed off to the elevator while Ulrich helped Harold to his feet.

"Will you be okay to use the supercomputer?" Aelita asked him.

"Yes, I think I can manage," he grunted, clutching at his arm. "Head down to the Scanner Room. I'll transfer the three of you, then try to make contact with Odd, William, and Jeremy."

He sat down in the chair — Jeremy's chair, as they had come to think of it — and Ulrich stood back to assess the damage the robot had done. "You'll need a splint."

He removed his belt and laced it around Harold's injured arm, then noosed it tightly.

"Oomph — ah, thank you, my boy," Harold said, using his free hand to fix the microphone to his ear. "Are you ready, girls?"

At the chorus of "yes" that sounded from the speakers, Harold began to type, Ulrich watching in awe as his single hand flashed across the keyboard with expert precision.

"Transfer, Yumi! Transfer, Aelita! Transfer, Mila! Scanner . . . Virtualization!"

Their digital forms appeared, hovering in midair, in the center of the brightly lit Arena of Sector Five. They materialized fully, then all three fell to the floor with soft thuds.

"I'm bringing up the Overwing and the Overrose," said Harold. "They'll be waiting for you at the Celestial Dome."

"We're on our way," Yumi said, and they darted off.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeremy swore never again to return to the roof. After their first, disastrous test run with the Skidbladnir, which had resulted in Odd, Yumi, Ulrich, and Aelita trapped in the Digital Sea in danger of disappearing at any moment, and which had forced Jeremy to scale the dorm roof in order to obtain the necessary programs to fix it from his room, he vowed never to set foot up here again. But as he was currently trapped inside the school with a swarm of vicious monsters hot on his heels, he didn't have many options.

After leaving Aelita behind in the dorm he raced through the corridors, climbing stairs as fast as he could in an effort to escape. But no matter where he turned, the route seemed to lead to a dead end. The only available option was the roof.

Luckily the trap door was open. He climbed up, ignoring the searing stitch in his side, and after taking a deep breath, began to climb. The last time he had attempted to walk across the tiles with his arms outstretched for balance; thinking back, he couldn't believe how stupid he had been to have even considered such a thing. Instead he took a seating position, his legs extended on either side, and began to push himself along.

The robots erupted through the trap door behind him. Many of them held back, assessing the current situation; several others, however, rushed towards him, immediately lost footing, and tumbled downwards, smashing against the ground.

A deeply unpleasant image rose in Jeremy's mind at the sound of the sickening _crack_! that had drifted up to his ears. A sudden, entirely unwanted vision of himself falling from the roof and crashing against the floor, his body broken and lifeless. He shook his head vigorously. No matter what happened, he would not let it come to that.

He had too much left to do to allow himself to be overcome with such a fate: he had to save Leo and Gabrielle from XANA, graduate from Kadic Academy with his friends, destroy XANA once and for all and, hopefully, once this was all over, build a future, a home, with her. . . .

His face hardening with his resolve, he moved off with greater speed. The robots had begun to climb across again, moving much more carefully than before, but Jeremy was already on the other side.

"Bye!" he said, waving, and he slipped down to the edge of the roof and jumped to the floor. An unpleasant sensation ran from his soles all the way up to his knees, but he was mercifully okay. There were a number of robots here too. He had just steeled himself for the fight he could clearly no longer avoid when he heard an all-too familiar battle cry, and a streak of purple swooped past him. Odd descended on the smaller robots with a baseball bat, smashing them to bits. The only remaining target, which was twice the size of Odd himself, now advanced — but there was a rustle from above and yet another profile he recognized leapt out of the trees.

William landed in the small of the robot's back and sent it crashing face-first into the dirt. With another violent swing of the bat, Odd sent its head, a coffeemaker entangled with an old landline flying into the night.

"Hiya, Einstein!" Odd said, as if greeting him after a long weekend apart. "Saw you on the roof just now. Not bad. Looks like you really weren't lying back then."

Jeremy understood "back then" to be the very moment he had remembered while running. Unfortunately, he had no time for Odd's praise. "They're coming back down," he said, pointing at the robots that had followed him, which were now clattering back downstairs. "We've only got a few minutes before they reach us. We have to get to the factory."

Odd shook his head. "No can do, good buddy."

"What? What do you mean?"

"We already sent Yumi, Mila, and Ulrich ahead," William explained. "They'll have to do without us. We have to stay here, and help to fight against them."

"But —"

"Oh, don't sweat it, Jeremy," Odd said bracingly. "They'll be fine without us. We have a more important job. Protecting our school."

"I . . . oh, all right," Jeremy sighed. "But can we get away from here, please?"

He could hear the robots drawing closer. Odd and William began to run alongside him, when he realized something. "Wait, what about Sissi?"

"We're heading to her right now," William said. "The basement under the school. She's there with the other students we managed to get away with. And — uh oh."

They stopped dead. A few robots had appeared in front of them, and the ones they had been running from now burst out of the school, rushing towards them.

Odd rummaged in his pockets. "Catch," he said, and he tossed a wrench to Jeremy. "Get ready, you two. We're in for the fight of our lives."


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long, but I've adjusted my schedule, so I'm confident I can get more chapters out sooner now. Until then, here are the additional two I promised last time.

The access regurgitated them in Xanadu's Volcano Sector. For several long minutes they flew over the pitch-black terrain, their path illuminated by the reddish glow emanating from the channels of digital lava that flowed through the ground. At last they came up to the Way Tower, guided by Harold, and flew into it. The brief spell of gliding downwards was replaced by the new sensation of soaring directly upwards, and they rose onto the new platform and erupted into the Swamp. The dense dome of leaves overhead blocked out most of Xanadu's sky, the ground was a mossy green, wet here and there with puddles of dirty water from which toxic fumes wafted into the air.

"Which way now, Harold?" Yumi asked.

"Forty degrees to the west," he replied.

Yumi and Aelita veered left, rising above a roiling pool of green water and onto the platform that lay beyond it, then hurtled off in the direction of the tower. Seconds later, a faint yet unpleasantly familiar buzzing noise rose out of the stillness.

"Oh, tell me those aren't —" Mila groaned, closing her eyes in exasperation.

They were. A vast swarm of Hornets was emerging from the thicket of branches behind them, closing in on their position.

"How many of them _are_ there?" Yumi asked, astonished. She had rarely ever seen this many Waspsters converging in one spot.

"Over a dozen," Harold said. "And they're not your only company."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Aelita said. She squinted down the path directly ahead of them: the objects that had caught her eye were quite visible, even from this distance — Orion, Porphyrion, and Altaea, all sitting atop an Orka of their own command, hovering around the tower.

"The trees are thicker on your right, I suggest you take cover."

Following Harold's advice, they turned off to the right, weaving in between the branches and stopping just behind the roots, thick enough for them to conceal both themselves and the vehicles.

"We'll never get through all of these alone!" Yumi said.

"Then it's a good thing you're not alone," said Ulrich's voice, sounding strangely amused.

"What are you talking about —?"

"The three of you are all we've got on Lyoko. If you don't make it, the school, the factory, the entire city — they all go down. You've gotta get past them, but you have to do it together."

"He's right," Mila said, after a short pause. "They're all fighting in teams, our only option is to do the same."

They could hear the Hornets buzzing around just beyond the blanket of trees. They would find them in only a matter of seconds, Yumi was sure of it.

"All right," Yumi said. "Together. We watch each other's backs."

Aelita nodded. "On three, then," she said, stepping back onto the Overrose. "One — two — three!"

They pelted out of the trees and back into open air. At once, the Hornets descended upon them. A deluge of lasers rained down on them, forcing them to duck, weave, and swirl through the air, narrowly dodging the projectiles.

Yumi flicked her wrist and a fan appeared in her hand. With a swift slicing motion, she let loose a gust of wind that slammed into one of the Hornets, sending it spiraling backwards. It crashed into another pool of Swamp water behind them, and at the same time, an explosion of gas erupted from below, submerging it in poison-green fumes.

Yumi swooped up behind Aelita and Mila, shifting her hand up, down, and sideways in rapid order, intercepting lasers from all angles. One shot beneath her arm and struck her ribs, leaving behind a crackle of electricity and a stinging pain.

" _Energy Field_!"

Aelita tilted the Overrose at an angle, so that she had a clear view of the monsters, and threw the sphere. It flew directly into the swarm, and the beasts spread out to avoid it — but the orb split apart like a cracked egg, expanding into two large rings that hovered in the air at an interval of about ten feet, encircling several Hornets inside like a great net. Ropes of energy burst from the sides of the net and hit each Hornet, causing them to explode.

"This way," Aelita said, pointing down a path to their left. The two vehicles careered down the trail, shooting towards another stretch of woods. Yumi supposed that Aelita’s plan was to take cover in the trees, but she glimpsed a glitter of the Digital Sea below the platform beside them, a gently lapping, leaf-green expanse, and had another idea.

"No, I have a plan," she said, turning around. "Follow me."

"Yumi, you're heading _towards_ the monsters!" Mila said, looking at her as if fearing for her sanity.

"Trust me," said Yumi. Lasers were still ripping past them, but now Yumi seized both her fans and launched them into the hive. Predictably, the Hornets veered away to avoid them, leaving a clear space through which they could escape. As the vehicles burst through, Yumi collected her fans and turned down the path they had come, back in the direction of the pool of water in which she had destroyed the first Hornet. Gas was rising from the unsettled surface like steam from a boiling pot.

Two Hornets broke away from the swarm and closed in on Aelita and Mila from the sides. With a flash of gold, Mila unfurled her whip. She lashed out and with a resounding crack the whip cleaved through the Hornets' bodies, exploding them.

They were coming up to the pool, and the Hornets were still dutifully following them. Yumi glanced back at them, and saw uncertainty in both girls' faces.

"Aelita, on my signal, throw an Energy Field at the water," she said. Though she still looked uncertain, Aelita nodded. There was a wait of a few seconds, then they charged over the surface.

"Now!"

The moment they had made it across, Aelita charged a second Energy Field in her palm and flung it, directly at the water.

The instant it came into contact, the surface exploded, and a rush of thick, jade-coloured gas billowed upwards, engulfing the creatures entirely. Yumi looked back: the path was clear, and Aelita and Mila were smiling.

"Nice job!" Ulrich cried triumphantly. "But no time for celebration just yet, ladies, the Harbingers are still waiting around the tower."

"We don't have a choice, we'll have to push our way through," Aelita said. She looked quite disinclined to the idea, but her tone was determined.

"It's the only way," Yumi said.

Mila sighed. "Well, we don't have a choice, do we?" she said, sounding half exasperated, half amused. "Let's go save our friends."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ulrich was watching the green and yellow blips that represented his friends wheeling around and gliding towards the waiting Harbingers when he heard it: a distant clanging noise, as if a pipe had clattered across the floor, then a faint whirring sound. He knew that he had not imagined it, because Harold had looked up at the sound as well, and both stared at the ceiling, above which more machinoids must now be making their way towards them.

"They're coming," Ulrich said grimly.

Harold sighed and, with the tap of a few buttons, pulled up the camera feed. A large number of robots was walking across the entrance of the factory. "Yes, indeed they are. You must leave, Ulrich. Go, assist your friends on Lyoko, it will be safer there. I will —"

"No way!" Ulrich burst out, incredulous. "I told you, I'm staying with you."

"And while I appreciate your concern, I cannot overlook the gravity of the situation. Neither you nor I will ever make it through that many robots. I am old and injured, there is nothing of significance I can contribute at this point. But you, you can do much more on Lyoko than you can here. If you go now —"

"No," Ulrich said, with finality. "I'm not going anywhere. Odd, William, Sissi, and Jeremy are back at school doing their part to help the rest of the students, and Yumi, Mila, and Aelita are working on Lyoko. I have my own work cut out for me, and that's to defend the factory. I won't be the only one who runs away. I'm staying, and that's final."

Harold looked at him for what felt like a long time, but was only a few seconds. Then his lips curled into a smile behind his thick beard. "Very well, then, Mr. Stern. What do you have in mind?"

"Anything we can do to give them as much time as possible," Ulrich said. "Shut down the elevator, that can buy us a few minutes, at least."

Harold nodded, then returned to the keyboard, entering the command with his single, uninjured hand.

"It's done."

"And . . . oh, here." Ulrich darted across the room and towards the robot he and Yumi had destroyed. Like all the others, it was composed of a multitude of other random mechanical items. At his touch, whatever residual magnetic force that had been keeping the pieces together faded away, and the items clattered away on the floor. He found a pitching machine that had either been locked in the Gym, or had been taken from some other off-school location, and a nail gun like the one Jim had once used to fight off a number of Kankrelats. "Here." Ulrich passed Harold the nail gun, then set the pitcher to stand, nuzzle aimed at the door. "Now we'll be ready when they come in."

Harold nodded and turned back to the computer, laying the nail gun across the floor at his feet, and watched as Yumi, Aelita, and Mila engaged in battle with the Harbingers. Their own fight was soon to come. A blocked elevator would not last long.

Once again he tried to phone Odd, but the call did not go through. Some sort of interference, likely caused by XANA's machine army, was blocking their communication. They were truly on their own.

A deafening _boom_! suddenly filled the room, reverberating from the walls. Harold leapt out of his seat in shock. The noise had come from just beyond the elevator door.

"What was that?"

Another boom rang out, and another, then a metallic grinding, screeching noise nipped at their ears. Both clamped their hands over their ears to drown out the sound, but it stopped quite abruptly. There was a second's hesitation — then the door began to groan. Something was forcibly prying it open.

"Well, we didn't really expect the elevator trick to work, did we?" Harold shrugged, picking up his nail gun with haste and pointing it at the door. Another few seconds passed in tense silence while the ridges of the door were worked on, then the door flew open with a wall-shaking crash.

"Now!" Ulrich powered on the pitcher and set it to its highest speed. The balls emerged one after the other with force enough to smash into robots and cause their haphazardly arranged limbs to shatter. Behind them Ulrich could see a gigantic hole in the roof, through which more machines were now spilling through. As the pitcher worked, Harold firing along with it, Ulrich snatched a crowbar from the remainder of the first robot's body and launched himself forward with a guttural cry.

One of the robots flung a wrench at him, but he slid across the polished floor of the Lab and swung at its leg: the crowbar hooked its ankle and Ulrich gave an almighty tug, wrenching it off its feet, then he smashed the crowbar into its face.

The pitcher had stopped firing; it was empty. The robot in front of him, no longer being repelled by the balls, swooped upon him, but before it could latch its fingers around his throat, there was a crash and a sputter and the robot fell backwards to the floor, a gaping hole in its face.

"Thanks," Ulrich said to Harold. "Nice aim."

"You're welcome. I —"

Harold was cut off by another series of tremendous bangs. More robots were erupting through the hole in the elevator roof.

Harold turned the gun on them and clicked the trigger, but nothing happened. "No!" he cried, waving the gun around fruitlessly.

"Stay here!" Ulrich shouted at him. "I'm going to lure them away."

"Ulrich, you can't —"

But Ulrich was not listening. With another battle cry he charged into the elevator, swinging the crowbar wildly and feeling the edge connecting with metal.

Harold had one last, fleeting glimpse of him before the doors slid back shut and the sound of the lift moving upwards reached him again. He stumbled back to the seat and brought up the camera feed once more. A flicker of movement in the third frame caught his eye, and Ulrich came into view, wriggling his way up one of the ropes that they used to swing from the bridge, with a vast swarm of robots on his tail. He sure was brave, nobody could deny that.

"Aelita, Mila, Yumi," said Harold, fixing the microphone back to his ear.

"Yes, Harold?" Yumi sounded breathless.

"We have a problem. The robots forced their way into the factory."

"No!" Aelita gasped. "Are you —?"

"I'm all right, but Ulrich ran off. They're chasing him. I don't think he can hold out much longer."

"I don't think we can either," Yumi said.

At her words Harold's eyes slid to the cards representing their virtual profiles, scanning their life points. Each of them was below fifty.

"You have to," he said desperately. "If you fail, all of the city will be lost."

"We're doing all we can," Mila said. "But it's not that simple. We could really use some backup."

"I can't guarantee that any is coming. You'll have to find another way."

He was met with silence.

"Aelita? Yumi? Come in, girls." The silence stretched on. "Mila? Yumi? Aelita?" he repeated, more urgently. "What's happening over there?"

"It's . . ." Aelita began. She sounded utterly stunned.

"It's what?"

"Leo and Gabrielle," Yumi said.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ulrich was running harder than he had in months. His chest was aching, his breath coming in sharp bursts, but still he pelted onwards, the robots thundering along behind him. He had thought he could lose them in the sewers, but more had been approaching from the other end, and only by diving into the chilly, foul-smelling water, bringing several of the machines with him, did he manage to reach the passage into the forest. Harold was right: he couldn't face this many, not alone. But he had to keep them away from the factory. Somebody had to be there to launch the return in time if — _when_ Aelita and the others reached the tower. He had to hold out, just for a few more minutes, hopefully.

There was a rustle of movement to his right. He glanced in its direction and saw something huge and dark moving towards him. Before he could react, the robot hurtled into him. The crash sent Ulrich reeling across the grass with a sharp pain flaring in his left knee, panting heavily. He raised his head and saw the group of robots converging on him in a circle, leering down at him. He had no chance to move.

Another cry of pain escaped Ulrich's lips as one of the robots kicked him across the face. His head fell back onto the grass, but another of the robots slammed its foot in his chest. He yelled out in pain again, but now blows were flying from all different angles, striking his head, his leg, his arm — he was soon so overwhelmed with pain that he could no longer identify where it was stemming from. His entire body was being pummeled mercilessly. Then it stopped, and in the brief moment of reprieve he glanced up, blood streaming from his mouth, his left eye puffy and swollen so that his vision was slitted. Another of the robots had raised its arm, and by the moonlight streaming through the canopy of leaves, he saw that it was a drill. To his horror, it began to whir.

The robot knelt down and brought the drill bit down to his forehead, slowly, tauntingly, as if savoring his terror. Ulrich closed his eyes, but he could tell by the buzzing in his ears, the uncomfortable prickling in his forehead, that it was getting nearer.

This was it. The end. Yumi had once said that she had often wondered how their journey would come to a close. Back then it had been on Lyoko, at the mercy of a trio of Creepers. Now he was lying alone and battered in a forest, surrounded by robots. No matter where or how, one thing was certain: they would always fall at the hands of XANA.

The gentle wind of the drill bit nipped at his forehead. A tear trickled from under his closed eyelid — then a horrible grinding noise lit the air. His eyes flew open and he saw the robot, impaled by its own drill, its chest being ripped apart.

Its allies were rushing at something else beside them, and falling to the ground at the same pace. For a second, Ulrich hoped that it was Odd. But the figure was too tall, too large. Yet still familiar. . . .

"Leo?"

The brown-haired boy turned around, his blue eyes fixed on Ulrich.

They were identical to the eyes that Ulrich had looked into for the past several weeks, the same shade and shape, yet the Leo he knew had a gleam in his eyes of mischief and kindness alike. The pair gazing down at him were blank, cold, like chips of ice.

It was the clone of Leo they had created to replace him at Kadic.

He stooped down and helped Ulrich to his feet. "Come on. There are more of them hanging around. We have to get you to the basement."

"No," Ulrich croaked. "Harold — he's at the factory, alone. He needs help."

Leo turned to look at his mysterious ally, whom Ulrich now saw was Gabrielle.

"I'll bring him back," she said. "You go help the others."

Leo nodded, Gabrielle took Ulrich's arms, and both set off in different directions. They could hear more screams in the distance, and plumes of smoke and fire were still rising into the sky. Ulrich found himself wondering how they were going to make it out of this one.

A number of robots approached them once they entered the courtyard. Gabrielle leaned him against a tree and darted forward to meet them.

Ulrich watched, amazed, as she ploughed through the group of assailants as if they were nothing. Jeremy had once told them of the day that William's old clone had done battle with the real William while he had been under XANA's control. The specters, like the one they had used to replace William, and like the ones XANA had created in the past, were fast, strong, and immensely powerful. He supposed that a few robots made of mostly mismatched appliances wouldn't be enough to overpower Gabrielle.

In less than a minute they had all been defeated and their remains scattered across the ground as if an enormous trash can had been overturned.

"Let's go," Gabrielle said, unfazed. She took hold of him again and led him inside the school, then down the stairs to the basement. What looked like the entire school population was gathered inside, shivering from a mixture of fright and cold, with Odd, William, Jim, and Jeremy posted at the entrance like guards.

"Ulrich!" Jeremy cried, as Gabrielle descended into the room. He hurried forward, but next moment was knocked aside as Sissi hurtled towards them.

"Oh, Ulrich darling! What happened to him?"

"The robots," Gabrielle said simply. "Don't worry, we took care of them," she added, at their looks of alarm. "Leo went to the factory to help your friend Harold."

"Factory? What factory?" Jim asked loudly.

Jeremy ignored him. "Ulrich, how's it going on Lyoko? Are they almost there?"

"Not even close," Ulrich croaked, while Sissi, who had gone to fetch the first aid kit from a rather pale-looking Mrs. Hertz, tended to his bruises. "Yumi, Aelita, and Mila can't hold out much longer. At this rate, they may never reach the tower."

"I knew it," Jeremy said. "We have to get to the factory, now!"

Jim, who had been following this discussion with an air of utter bewilderment, glanced through the window. "Look alive!" he said suddenly. "Another set approaching!"

The students inside let out little noises of fear and huddled together.

"Jim, I don't know how to explain this to you, but we can stop this," Jeremy said. "We just need to get out of here and reach the factory, and you'll have to hold out for as long as you can."

"Listen, Belpois, I don't have the slightest clue what you're on about with these factories and towers and Loco, but if you really have a way to end this, then go right ahead, we're all counting on you."

Jeremy nodded. "Odd, you and Gabrielle stay here with Jim and the others. William and I will head to the factory."

"Good luck," Odd said, hoisting his baseball bat.

"You too."

On Jim's signal, all five of them rushed out of the basement: Jeremy and William broke off from the group, veered to their left, and darted into the woods, while Odd, Jim, and Gabrielle surged at the robots, brandishing weapons.

"Do you think they'll be able to hold out until we get there?" William asked, as they raced through the forest.

"They'll have to. XANA really played his cards right. He used the first tower as a decoy, to lure us into a false sense of security, then he struck when we were vulnerable. But I still can't shake the feeling that there's more to it."

"We can figure that out after we've dealt with this."

They descended into the sewers, where they were forced to run the rest of way, as the robots had destroyed their skateboards and scooters, and finally emerged into the factory, passing litters of robot scraps along the way. Unfortunately, the elevator seemed to have been blocked. They had to enter through the door halfway down the staircase on their left, and when they did they found Leo leaning against the holoprojector with Harold, Mila beside them, looking fearful.

"Harold!" Jeremy said. "What happened?"

"A robot," said Leo. "I found it attacking him when I got here."

"I'm all right," Harold croaked. "But the others —"

"Right," Jeremy said, hurrying to his seat. A simple return to the past would undo all of this, including Harold's injuries, as if they had never been. However, another jolt of surprise reached him when he noted the lay of the battlefield.

Mila had been devirtualized shortly before they arrived, and Yumi and Aelita were still fighting against Porphyrion, Altaea, and Orion — and Leo and Gabrielle. It was the first time XANA had rematerialized them since they had discovered that they were under XANA's control. And as if Lady Luck had decided to smile upon them at last, there it was as well. The Scyphozoa, making its way onto the scene.

"Aelita."

"Jeremy, is that you? Oh, at last —"

"Aelita, behind you!"

He heard Aelita’s small gasp. "Jeremy, it's —"

"I know," Jeremy said, inwardly hating himself. "Aelita, remember the plan I spoke to you about earlier? For saving Leo and Gabrielle?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with —"

"This is part of it, Aelita. Whatever the Scyphozoa came to do . . . let it."

" _What_?" Aelita, Yumi, William, and Mila's voices all blended together in a cacophony of incredulity.

"Aelita, you asked me to trust you when you discovered New Olympus. Now I'm asking you to trust me."

Silence. Aelita was gazing up at the towering monster as it advanced on her, tendrils whipping about like many restless arms. It stopped right in front of her, and raised its tentacles. But she exhaled and relaxed, letting them fold around her. The familiar crimson glow enveloped her body and she rose into the air, the Scyphozoa's tendrils pulling at her forehead.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are really heating up! Feel free to share any thoughts or theories you might have below, and see how everything unfolds during the next chapters.

The moment it had caught her, Jeremy launched the program.

"Jeremy, _what_ are you doing?" William asked again, moving closer to peer at the screen.

"Saving our friends," Jeremy replied. "And that's what you should be doing too. Head down to the Scanners."

Though he still looked both confused and disapproving, William darted to the side of the room and climbed down the bars to the Scanner Room.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Jeremy," Harold said gravely from beside him.

Jeremy did not answer. He restarted the virtualization process, then brought William into the Arena. Now more than ever he realized just how irritating the process of gaining entry into Xanadu's atmosphere was. William now had to make his way through Sector Five and into the access, which could spit him out anywhere, probably causing him to have to find a random Way Tower to reach Aelita and Yumi, if they weren't overwhelmed before then.

While William set off, Jeremy looked back at Aelita. Her memory level was steadily decreasing. At the same time, the program which he had launched, the virus he and Harold had created, was loading. He watched it tensely, his fingers gripping the arms of the chair so tightly that his knuckles were white.

Then a new window sprang open, displaying a green affirmation sign.

"Yeah!" he shouted in triumph. "The program is completely operational!" he told Harold.

On Xanadu, meanwhile, Yumi was still struggling to avoid getting hit. Porphyrion's energy waves, Altaea's paralysis blasts, and Orion's Shadow Scales were zipping all across the battlefield. She had lost the Overwing, and was forced to take cover behind the trees while they attacked, shooting bursts of wind every now and then in response.

Another wave of energy crashed into the trees. She grit her teeth and returned fire, to no avail. "Jeremy, we're not getting anywhere here!"

"Hang on, Yumi, William has just entered Xanadu's access, he'll be there soon."

She caught a glimpse of gold and peered around the tree to see Leo charging electricity along his thunderbolt. She stowed her fans and cartwheeled out from behind the tree, turning her flip into a roll as the blast surged into the trees and engulfed them in an explosion of light.

She pulled out both fans, but Gabrielle appeared out of nowhere, slashing at her with her shell knives. Yumi barely managed to evade, clumsily intercepting her vicious swipes with her fans. She flipped aside as Gabrielle swung at her head, then kicked out at her torso, pushing her to the floor. With her telekinesis, she pulled both of the shells from the floor, and flung them into the Swamp water behind them.

Then she started to run. Her eyes found Aelita as she moved, willingly captured by the very monster she had spent so long running from.

 _I hope you know what you're doing, Jeremy_ , she thought, unconsciously echoing Harold. The monster's coils suddenly loosened, and it released Aelita. It backed away, convulsing as if it had been electrocuted.

"Aelita!" Yumi ran to her side and helped her to her feet. "Are you all right?"

"I feel . . . fine," Aelita said, confused. Before she could devote any more thought to her condition, there was a bewildered cry from ahead and they both looked up. The Scyphozoa had lashed out at Porphyrion, sending his swords flying, and was now wrestling with him, trying to capture him as it had done Aelita.

"What —"

"Yumi, Aelita, my plan worked!" Jeremy said triumphantly. "The Scyphozoa is under our control now, I directed it to go after the Harbingers, but you have to protect it while it works."

"But —"

"I'll explain later! Just get to it," Jeremy said urgently.

Porphyrion was still struggling against the Scyphozoa's forceful embrace. His siblings were rushing forward to help him.

" _Energy Field_!" Aelita shouted, aiming a sphere of energy at the approaching Harbingers as Yumi threw her fans.

The twin disks soared through the air along with the ball of energy. Altaea swatted the Energy Field with her mace, but the first fan slammed into her stomach and she doubled over with a grunt of pain. The second flew at Orion, who threw up an arm to block. The fan grinded against the metallic scales of his arm and rebounded off, leaving him unscathed.

"Hah! You'll have to do much better than that if you want to defeat Orion the —"

His last words issued as a terrible gasp. Slowly, as if he couldn't believe his eyes, he looked down. A gigantic blade was sprouting from his chest, glowing white with energy. He stared at it for a split second, incredulity still shining in his slitted eyes, then exploded into dust. William appeared in his wake, grinning, flying towards them on the Overbike.

"One serving of backup for the ladies," he said smoothly.

Yumi smiled, but it faded instantly. "Look out!"

William looked around, then swooped away with a cry of alarm as lightning tore across the sky again. As Leo and Altaea rained fire at him, Yumi activated her Telekinesis once more. William's massive blade, which had clattered to the floor when Orion had been devirtualized, rose unsteadily into the air, then, following the motion of Yumi's hand, streaked skywards. William shot past and caught it, then turned directly towards Altaea. She threw blast after blast of energy, but he dodged them all, weaving ever closer, until the Overbike was directly in front of her — then he leapt off and the bike crashed into her, sending her sprawling backwards with a shriek. William touched down beside her, then drove his blade through her breast. With a final wail of agony, she too dissolved into digital strips.

William leapt away, landing this time at Yumi and Aelita’s feet. Their expressions of awe and relief at finally being rid of the two monsters was quickly overcome by apprehension. Following their gaze, William turned to see Leo and Gabrielle approaching at speed.

"Jeremy," William said, "how's it going with your program?"

"It's almost done," he replied. "Just keep them away from the Scyphozoa for a little while longer."

"After everything that thing has done, I never thought I'd actually be here _protecting_ it." William shook his head, his eyes on the creature, hovering a short distance away with the final Harbinger trapped at last in its parasitic grasp.

Leo and Gabrielle came to a halt in front of them. Leo raised his thunderbolt: lightning crackled along the shaft and he turned the cylinder towards them. With a noise like an explosion, the blast ripped towards them.

Aelita summoned an Energy Field and threw it at the lightning. The two blasts collided in midair, and the reaction was far different than they could have expected: the stream of lightning pressed forward, unyielding, while the Energy Field expanded outwards, slowly, as the lightning forced itself onto it. A few seconds passed while the blasts pulsed and convulsed, transitioning into an unstable sphere of bluish-white light, then it exploded, sending a powerful shockwave across the battlefield.

Yumi, William, and Aelita were thrown backwards by the blast, skidding across the plateau. At last they came to a halt, then they looked up, groaning.

"Cool," William said, grinning widely.

Leo and Gabrielle too had been affected, but like them had swiftly recovered. William leap to his feet and surged forward, his gargantuan blade positioned over his shoulder. Gabrielle rushed to meet him, slashing with her scallop-shell-blades, which had been randomly restored to her palms as she ran. The smooth, gleaming sheets of energy lit the murky green air as her hands twisted and wove, but William dodged every blow, parrying one or two with his own sword. Then he returned a swing of his own.

She threw up the points of both blades to intercept, and there was a shower of sparks as all three scraped against each other. William launched a kick to her stomach that sent her sprawling backwards, then brought down his sword.

But Gabrielle, moving with a speed he had yet to see, rolled out of the way and dove aside, landing beside her brother.

Leo fired another burst of Thunder, which William dove sideways to avoid. Yumi and Aelita were approaching from behind, but before the battle could resume, the Scyphozoa released Porphyrion at last.

The tension in the air was almost palpable as it whipped away into the Swamp, leaving the Harbinger on the floor. Even Leo and Gabrielle had frozen, watching it, as Yumi, William, and Aelita were, in equal parts curiosity and suspicion. Then slowly it rose.

Porphyrion's back was to them, and they could see the rapid rise and fall of his massive shoulders. Then he wheeled around abruptly and gave a roar of rage, his single eye fixed on the Corentins, who looked shocked. Porphyrion moved so fast they had no time to react, firing another wave of energy — at Gabrielle.

A shriek of pain escaped her as the blast rolled over her, and she skidded away. Leo dashed to her side at once, but Porphyrion was charging energy along his blades again.

" _Aegis_!"

The aura of golden light suffused Leo's body once again, and Porphyrion's blast rolled harmlessly off of him. He secured Gabrielle, then turned his thunderbolt to the sky, and a burst of blue lightning came spearing downwards upon him. It crashed into the shaft as if it were a lightning rod, then a harsh blue light enveloped them, and a second burst of lightning erupted into the sky. A moment afterwards it cleared, and they were gone.

"Could he always do that?" William asked, pointing at the spot where the siblings had been.

"They're not gone yet," Jeremy said. "They're two hundred meters to your left, hiding in the trees."

"That's far enough," Aelita said. "Our friends are in danger, we have to deactivate the tower now."

"Got it. I'm sending you the Overrose right away."

The flower-shaped vehicle appeared in front of her and she leapt onto it.

"Go on, we'll take care of them," said William, nodding in the direction of Leo and Gabrielle. Aelita grabbed the stalk-like handle of the Overrose and sped away, hoping that it wouldn't be too late. While she moved, Yumi and William turned to Porphyrion.

He was standing completely still, his blades shining in his hands.

"Are we sure he's not going to attack us?" William asked, shaking his hand in the Harbinger's direction, and receiving no reaction.

"No, he's completely under my control," Jeremy assured them. "I'm accessing his memories and internal programs right now. I don't know how long it'll last, XANA's started fighting me for control, but hopefully I can get through before anything serious happens. Ah, Aelita's inside the tower now."

Yumi and William wheeled to look at the tower again. Less than a minute later, the scarlet halo changed to pale blue.

"At last, now we can launch a return to the past," Yumi said.

Jeremy sounded apologetic. "Actually, we can't just yet, Yumi."

"What? Why?"

"I still haven't found the data that I need in Porphyrion's mind yet. If I launch a return to the past now, we'll lose the chance for good."

"Jeremy, the entire town is in danger! Even if the robots are stopped now, there's still been a whole mess of destruction that needs to be undone immediately. Lots of people could have been injured."

"I know that, Yumi," Jeremy said, with a hint of desperation in his voice. "Harold, Odd, Ulrich, Sissi, and everyone else in town are counting on the return trip, but we also need that data if we ever hope to save Leo and Gabrielle. You _do_ still want that, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Yumi said, sounding shocked.

"Then let me handle it."

"Uh, looks too late for that," William said grimly.

"What do you mean?"

"It looks like our one-eyed friend is starting to snap out of your control."

The Harbinger was convulsing, looking as though he was struggling against invisible bindings. A split second later, he raised his sword — and pointed it at himself.

"No!" Yumi unfolded one of her fans and threw it, knocking the sword out of Porphyrion's hand before he could impale himself.

"What's going on over there?" Jeremy demanded.

"Jeremy, he's trying to devirtualize himself!" Yumi cried.

"No, if he gets devirtualized before I'm finished, I'll lose the connection. You have to stop him!"

"How? Are we supposed to tie him up with some of the Swamp vines?" William said sarcastically. "You're the one in control of him, you stop him."

"I can't. XANA is starting to regain control of the program. You have to restrain him yourselves."

Without warning, the cyclops hurtled off, rushing towards a massive, nearby pool of Swamp water. Yumi and William shared a quick look, then darted off after him. Yumi fell back, keeping William in her sights, and put one hand to her forehead. Her body glowed white with power, then with a quick flick of her hand, she sent William flying through the air. He landed in the small of the giant's back, pushing him to the floor.

Porphyrion responded immediately, twisting underneath him so that William fell off. His great blade clattered away as Porphyrion rose, towering above him. The Harbinger brought down his enormous foot and stamped, but William rolled from beneath him.

Greenish smoke wafted into the air from the point of contact as he moved away, leaving a huge imprint on the moss-covered floor. A glimmer of pink caught William's eye, then Yumi's fans swooped onto the scene. Porphyrion ducked, letting them fly overhead, then grabbed William's leg and raised him forcefully into the air as they returned, using him as a shield. Both fans slammed into his chest and he flew backwards, skidding across the floor with a grunt of pain.

"William!" Yumi shouted. Before she could react, motion ahead caught her attention, and she looked forward. With a thrill of horror, she saw Porphyrion's single, vast eye burst out of its socket and come to rest mere inches away from her.

"Yumi, get out of there!" Jeremy screamed. She tried to move away, but even as she wheeled around, glancing over her shoulder, she knew that she wouldn't make it. The iris blazed red, preparing to expel the familiar burst of scarlet energy — but the ground below it suddenly shifted, and several huge, moss-covered rocks erupted from the ground, contorting, until a pyramid of stone was erected around the eye, stopping the blast dead.

The Harbinger looked as bewildered as Yumi felt, but she understood a moment later as a cry of, " _Energy Field_!" reached her ears. She glanced around and saw Aelita approaching on the Overrose, cradling an orb of energy in the palm of her right hand.

She tossed it at the giant, which was looking around wildly as if it did not know what was happening, and the sphere split apart once more, encompassing the Harbinger in a net of energy cast by two great rings on either side of it. Rivulets of pink energy streamed from the walls of the net and ran over Porphyrion's body. He screamed, a hollow, grating sound, then collapsed heavily onto the floor.

"Yumi!" Aelita shouted.

Yumi raised her fingers to her forehead once again, this time directing her Telekinesis at the vines that hung from the trees on their right. She had gotten the idea from William's earlier comment. The vines shivered, then came alive, snaking from the trees and extending towards the motionless Harbinger. They wound over his body, again and again, seemingly endless, and seconds later he lay entirely still, his entire body wrapped in vines.

"Nice work, you two," Jeremy said in relief.

There was a groan from behind them and William stood, massaging his chest. He observed the scene, then gave them a thumbs-up and a weak grin. They watched and waited, eyes on the Harbinger, which soon began to struggle against his bindings. Luckily, the vines seemed to be much stronger than had appeared.

"I got it!" Jeremy said, after a few minutes' wait. "I got the information that we need. Great work, guys. Get ready, I'm launching the return program . . . _Return to the past now_!"


End file.
